The World Only The Girls Knows: Side Collection
by Wrathie Winsre
Summary: A collection of side stories that couldn't quite fit into the AU of The World Only The Girls Knows time-line. Let the side story madness begin!
1. Side 1 - Chapter 1

The World Only The Girls Knows: Side Collection

**Short One – Chapter 1**

**Note: Characters from the Light Novel will be Included as well.**

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Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki

Written by: wrathie

**Author's Notes: This particular story is on a similar timeline as BRP/MW.**

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**Author's Notes: No beta for this one. But I'll get one for it soon.**

**Anyway, a collection of short stories, my definition of short definitely needs defining... Either way, enjoy this particular short till the next update!**

**Lastly, before someone calls me out on the entire concept, the entire concept is inspired and driven from: "ToHeart 2: Multiple Choices"**

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Cafe Grandpa, a small shop-house cafe that was being run by Katsuragi Mari was quite famous within Maijima for having a wide collection of tea, good handmade cakes. It was one of the few shop-houses that continued to thrive within Maijima due to their regular customers, being popular with students as well as with families that liked to patronize the shop.

The prices were reasonable too, the service was average and the food menu a little limited, but the food was spectacular.

In one way or another, Katsuragi Mari was able to keep the cafe running by herself without help, opening for 10 hours a day, half days during weekends and yet still be in the black for several years now.

Perhaps the secret comes from how there wasn't a need for rental fees, the low cost of maintenance for her shop as well as how she manages to make her own cakes, prepare her own pre-prepared brew of tea and coffee like a professional.

Of course, rumours from her competitors point out that many of her regulars were 'associated' with her.

Despite what Katsuragi Mari looked like now, the very image of a dedicated working housewife with an every ready smile, she was well known, famous and even terrorized the biking community in her youth.

Most of her former associates had, like her, shed that part of their lives and went on to become respectable members of society. At least, some of them did. There were a few more noticeable members who popped in from time to time to have a chat with Mari about old times, to seek advise on their machines as well as to just general be in the midst of someone great.

So one could reasonably tell that Katsuragi Mari was someone that was both respected as well as feared within the community by different groups of people.

Respected by the community as she had been successful in raising a child by herself in the absence of her husband and feared for her past exploits and stories that had managed to travel even up to this quiet time.

But more often than not, when one talked about Cafe Grandpa, one's first impression would be the cheerful and smiling beauty that would hurry to greet and usher them into a seat.

This was Cafe Grandpa, the scene and the stage for this particular story.

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..

'Hmm~ Mm~'

Katsuragi Mari hummed to herself as she finished wiping the last of the washed coffee cups while keeping an eye on the patrons of Cafe Grandpa. It had been quite a busy afternoon, the rush hour for Cafe Grandpa was typically after middle school ended due to the students dropping by to partake in a few cakes or to just hang around the cosy atmosphere.

Mari didn't have any problems with that, but she was a little strict on the couples that did drop by once in a while. She believed that they were too young to really appreciate or to really form real emotional bonds with each other.

At least, that's what Mari thought. There were a few kids who she knew that were together for a very long time. Some of them Mari knew were childhood friends, neighbours or perhaps those who they met in school that had stayed in contact for a very long time.

Those individuals, Mari gave her sincere blessings to as she felt that they would have a better chance in knowing what they were going into.

Going into a relationship changes things, and it's not always for the better. The world was a harsh place and even if Mari knew that she was one of the few who actually married for love, she did love her husband, her husbands actions were unforgivable in the end.

He insisted his innocence but Mari felt that the trust between them had dissipated quite a bit. But even if he was saying the truth and Elsi was actually being misled by her true parents, Mari was glad that she had gotten a daughter like Elsi.

They were not related by blood, but she was still her daughter.

The person and relationship that she was worried about was Elsi with her brother, perhaps foster brother, and her son, Katsuragi Keima.

'Could we have the chocolate meringue please, Mari-san?'

Mari was pulled from her thoughts as she heard a familiar voice, a very frequent visitor to her shop asking for help and she spun around to smile at the two dears who was pointing at her cakes.

'Of course dear, but why not try this one instead? The lemon meringue is better, I assure you!'

'But I don't like my food sour, Mari-san.'

'Nonsense, a mixture of sweet and sour makes it even better. But if you insist, I'll serve you the chocolate meringue. Are you having it here today?'

'Mm... I am going out to play later on, so I think I'll have it take-away please!'

'Of course, now give me a minute, dear~'

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..

'I'm home, Oka-sama!'

Mari smiled as she heard her daughter calling out to her as she entered through the front door of their home. Her daughter was really a gift from the heavens while her son though...

'…'

There's lots of work to be done for that one as compared to his younger sister.

'Kami-Onii-sama is back home too!'

Elsi added as an afterthought even as she hurried into the preparation area for the cafe as she beamed at her mother. Mari for her part gave her daughter a hug to welcome her back but as she was still serving her customers, she had to cut the greetings short as she hurried over to clear a few plates and to serve up some cake to the paying customers.

'I'll help out too!'

Mari smiled again as she Elsi quickly donned an apron before heading out to the dining area to clear the plates. Her daughter was a little clumsy, she had broken a few plates in her first day here but the regulars all loved her.

She was earnest, cute, hard-working and very optimistic. Unlike some of the stories she head from her neighbours, Elsi loved doing housework and she was the one who made the place spick and span at the end of every work day. Compared to her son... Elsi really worked hard in the household, not that Mari was pointing fingers or anything.

'Ah, good afternoon, Tsukiyo-chan!'

Mari turned to the door when she heard Elsi call out a familiar name. One of her most frequent visitors, Kujyo Tsukiyo, had dropped by again. She was a very adorable blonde girl that was the same age as her son but with the body of a middle-school girl, but most importantly to Mari, looked like a porcelain doll that was frankly too adorable for words.

Tsukiyo gave her customary survey of the entire place with her eyes before turning to flash a very brief and fast smile at Mari.

'I'm here to visit again, Mari-san.'

She spoke softly, too softly to be heard by any of the other patrons but Elsi and Mari knew that she was just too shy to actually voice her own true thoughts out to the world.

Tsukiyo had been visiting them regularly for a few months now and Mari had grown to love that young girl just as much as she liked Elsi. The fact that Tsukiyo had been very welcoming to her, even having asked her to take the place of her guardian for one of those parent-teacher conferences made Mari very happy indeed.

That being said, Mari did know why Tsukiyo was visiting regularly as well. It was due to her son, Katsuragi Keima that Tsukiyo came by everyday for her afternoon tea and cakes.

Unlike the rest of her regulars, who she won over with her charm as well as products, Mari had to admit that Tsukiyo first came to the cafe was because she was smitten with her son.

Not that it was a bad thing actually, if there was one thing that Mari was unsure of, it was Keima's future. She had believed that she did a good job raising Keima, he was doing very well in the studies front and he seemed to know what he was going to do in the future and most importantly, he was actually supplementing her income by quite an amount every month through his activities.

All the while indulging in his hobby of his. Mari knew that her son was no ordinary person if he could manage all of that without a hitch. That was why Mari was very happy to see that in the social front, where Keima had been horrible bad, her son was indeed still seeing other people.

What Mari hadn't quite been prepared to understand and acknowledge was how Keima didn't simply strike it lucky with Tsukiyo, she had to come to grips with knowing that Keima had earned his way into Tsukiyo's heart.

The details were hazy at best, but Mari knew that Keima had truly and definitely done something very important for Tsukiyo for the girl to actually tolerate and to accept that she was not the only girl that was after her son.

Yes, she was just one of many girls that Mari knew or were introduced to during the course of the few months since Tsukiyo's appearance.

It was just Tsukiyo at first but then there were more of them that popped up from nowhere. Individuals like Yoshino Asami-chan, a quiet girl that made it a habit to walk to school with him everyday.

Fuse Aoba-chan, who was a female version of her son and like Elsi, held him in very high regards. Haqua De Lut Herminium-chan, a friend of Elsi who has became good friends with Keima as well.

Shiomiya Shiori-chan, who she had never met at their place but who had confessed that she liked her son at school during their first and only meeting. Others like Kasuga Kusonoki, Kosaka Chihiro, Takahara Ayumi and even _the_ Nakagawa Kanon were interested in her son as well.

If Mari didn't love her son as much as she did, she would have no choice but to admit that her son was a playboy that was cheating on all of them. It was entirely possible for Keima to take after his father, Mari knew and acknowledged that he was very popular with many women. Keima's grandparents weren't that happy that their son married Mari, a by-product of her unsavory past no doubt and so it wasn't a stretch to say that it might run in the Katsuragi blood.

However, that wasn't the case as Mari knew that all the girls knew about each other. That and Keima had been stubbornly or perhaps, unsure which girl he would want to go out with. Mari does sympathized with him, she had difficulty choosing between Tsukiyo and Shiori too! But even if she had her favorite candidate, she would never pile pressure on Keima to make a decision for it was his mess to clean up.

..

'What would it be today, Tsukiyo-chan? The usual?'

'The usual please, Mari-san.'

'One usual, coming right up~'

Mari ruffled Tsukiyo's affectionately like she would to Elsi as she knew that it embarrassed the younger girl whenever she did that. It also made Mari a little sad as well to see Tsukiyo react so obviously and shyly to such an obvious show of affection from her part.

It proves and shows that Tsukiyo either really liked her or just had not been shown that affection for a very long time.

Mari was still a little lost in her thoughts when she felt someone cling on to one of her legs, causing her to stumble a little in surprise.

'Ara!'

Mari blinked when she saw the young child that had clung on to her legs and she struggled a little before bending down to smile at the young girl there. The young girl was in a white dress, carrying a small bagpack at the back and had her dark brown hair tied up in twin-tails like most adorable kids.

The child released her leg the moment she saw Mari's attention was on her and she waited for Mari to speak first, her small but wide eyes looking up at her adorably as Mari asked her.

'Ara, ara, do you need someone, little girl? Did your parents want to speak to me?'

Mari petted her hair just like how she did with Elsi at times but despite her perhaps childish handling of the child's hair, she didn't protest like how children of her age might to do a stranger.

She smiled happily instead before clutching Mari's hand and shaking her head.

'Grandmother!'

She declared happily while Mari simply stared at her in shock. Wait, did this child call her 'grandmother'? She wasn't that old! She definitely didn't look that old anyway!

'E-Excuse me...? But did you say, Grandmother...?'

Mari asked again while taking deep breaths. This was her restaurant and so her image was at stake her. As much as it might make her mad, this was a child here. Someone who doesn't know what she was doing and most importantly, was quite innocent and naïve.

It could be a prank being played on her by Keima, for all she knew and she reached for the child's hand to hold it gently.

'Mm! Mari-san is my grandmother!'

'… I'm your... grandmother?'

Mari gave a very blank look at the younger girl, she couldn't possibly be older than six but was definitely younger than ten. That much she could deduce and she had to force herself to remember if any of her old friends had gotten a son or a daughter that was around her age.

It wouldn't be _that_ odd for them to get their daughter to call her as a foster mother or... god forbid, grandmother.

'Hai~~~ Mari-san is my grandmother~~ I've came to play!'

The younger girl smiled as she gave Mari as big a hug that she could manage even as Mari felt her head spin a little.

However that bombshell was nothing compared to what happened next.

..

'Ara, Mari-san. Who is this?'

Tsukiyo was covering her mouth, probably to veil her amusement as she walked over to the two of them. She did a picture perfect curtsey to the younger girl when she noticed her looking back up at her curiously.

'Good afternoon, I am Kujyo Tsukiyo and this is Luna.'

Tsukiyo gave a small haughty smile to the child while waving the arm of her doll and it seemed to have made the girl happy as she released Mari before doing a clumsy curtsey back as well.

Tsukiyo and Mari both smiled at that, only for their smiles to be wiped away when the young girl clung on to Tsukiyo's arm and delivered yet another statement that made the entire cafe really quiet.

'Mother!'

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..

It wasn't the first time that Cafe Grandpa had closed shop earlier than normal, there were circumstances that caused inconveniences to their paying customers. However this was the first time that Mari was not able to apologize in person to all the customers that she had to ask to leave the cafe. Elsi had to do that as Mari and Tsukiyo had quickly whisked the young girl to the living quarters of the Katsuragi Household.

Somehow, Elsi knew this was just the beginning. It was a feeling that she had developed after spending a lot of time with her big brother, Katsuragi Keima. She knew this was especially when the younger girl had told them that Katsuragi Keima was her father. Elsi already had a few theories on what might have happened here, each one as implausible as the next... but one in particular stood out. All she needed now was to have a discussion with her Kami-Onii-sama a little later in the day.

If he even survived till the end of the day that was.

'I'm sorry, but Cafe Grandpa is closed today due to extraordinary circumstances... we do hope that you'll visit us tomorrow!'

Elsi repeated the same lines in apology as she had to ask another guest to leave the cafe after finishing their meal. Thankfully for the younger demon, many of them were quite understanding of the situation. What made it difficult however was the regulars, some of them who were in earshot of what had happened earlier. This led to many awkward questions about Mari and her brother, questions that Elsi couldn't and wouldn't answer.

It was going to get even more difficult if they didn't get to the bottom of this... but honestly, Elsi knew she had the answer to this puzzle all figured out.

The problem right now however was to contain the possible damage that would happen from this problem they had.

'… … Who knew it would be so hard... how are we going to explain this?'

Elsi asked herself even as she turned the Open/Close sign in front of the cafe's front door. Time to check on her Kami-Onii-sama and see how he was doing then!

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..

Katsuragi Keima, the **Capturing God**, and the eldest son of the Katsuragi household was currently besieged by two females as he tried his best to ignore them and to continue his conquest of the _ideal._

No, that wasn't right, he was maintaining his status in the _ideal..._ No, that was wrong as well. He owned the _ideal_...

'…'

Fine, Katsuragi Keima admitted that he had difficulty maintaining his train of thought with the two women that were staring at him, waiting for answers.

No, that wasn't right again... to be specific, it was the young girl that was currently beside him in the family couch, her eyes staring attentively to his PFP that was unnerving him.

He had blocked out all of Mari's questions, demands and furious screeches by focusing on his games but as he was **god**, he had a firm grasp of what was going on by now.

'So she claims to be your grand daughter, mine as well as Tsukiyo's daughter?'

Keima summarized everything up easily before sighing and asking them why they had bought it so easily.

'For all we know, she could just be a lost child who has mistaken us for their family.'

Keima replied reasonably even as Tsukiyo flushed and said that was indeed possible. Then again, it was quite like Tsukiyo, who Keima knew to be very irrational when she gets very flustered to jump to conclusions like that.

If she hadn't been swept up by Mari, who Keima remembered had immediately gone off to accuse her husband, his father, of infidelity just from a single letter produced by Elsi.

As saddening as it might be to admit, Keima knew her mother liked to jump to conclusions when they shattered the border of belief for her.

Suddenly having a granddaughter, her son having a daughter in secret and not even marrying the girl would surely blow a fuse or two.

'Besides, if the mother isn't even aware of the daughter's existence... how do you expect me to believe it?'

Keima hammered the last nail into the coffin even as Tsukiyo blinked and then flushed again, fidgeting as she stared at Keima with blushing cheeks.

'T-That's... true...'

Mari finally relented, her anger and disappointment driven away by Keima's calm analysis of the situation. At the back of her head however, Mari was furious at how Keima, like his father, was able to go through everything with a fine combed brush to pick out the flaws in the situation.

It was something she disliked, for it made her look like an idiot. At least her son wasn't really making her sound like an idiot.

..

'Could we have a moment alone, Ka-san?'

Keima asked suddenly as the room was deep in silence for a few moments and the request made Mari's eyes narrowed again as she shot suspicious looks at Keima and Tsukiyo. The blonde girl simply squeaked while Keima remained focused on his games. The young child on the other hand, was still staring at the PFP in Keima's eyes without even moving.

That alone made it possible for her to be Keima's child but she might just be projecting the image onto others. So Mari simply nodded and said that she's going to need some time to cool down.

'Ah, grandmother, could I have some cake please!'

With Mari always a sucker for young and adorable girls, Keima hid a small smile as Mari smiled and nodded at her before leaving the two of them just as Elsi returned from the cafe proper.

'Now then.'

Keima narrowed his eyes briefly as the child looked disappointed as he placed his PFP down. Tsukiyo noticed the resigned look on Elsi's face and her expression changed slightly as well. Tsukiyo was one of the 'captured' girls that had been present for one particular 'mission' that Keima and Elsi had undertaken.

To be exact, the capture of Konoe Rea, and, now it seems that she had been wrapped up into another one.

'It's Mari, isn't it?'

'Hai, Oka-sama has a weiss inside her.'

Elsi's answer was accompanied by Elsi removing the Weiss detector from her head and showing it to Keima.

'… So, this is the Weiss?'

Keima pointed to the child who was playing around with his PFP but his eyes widened when she turned it on and resumed the game itself as well.

'… Well, at least she did get the basics right.'

Keima muttered to himself as he knew that there were others who did not even know how to turn on a game console, Nagase Jun was one of them after all. The child made it looked easy and she held the PFP comfortable without any problems at all.

'… Katsuragi, I would like you to explain what is going on this time.'

Tsukiyo's soft voice rang out again and Keima gave a small sigh when beside her, the doll named Luna was floating beside her threatening as well.

..

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**Author's Notes: No promises about what would happen in the future of MWs, but I'll definitely tackle the events of the Goddess eventually.**

**A disclaimer: I take no responsibility for any hopes that might be dashed from reading this story.**

**It is within the same timeline, but who knows when this particular story appears on the timeline.**


	2. Side 1 - Chapter 2

The World Only The Girls Knows: Side Collection

**Short One – Chapter 2**

**Note: Characters from the Light Novel will be Included as well.**

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Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki

Written by: wrathie

**Author's Notes: This particular story is on a similar timeline as BRP/MW.**

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**Author's Notes: I'm certainly on a roll today! Anyway, no beta for this chapter as well. Enjoy the madness!**

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The goddess that was residing within the body of Tsukiyo's doll was Vulcan, the eldest of the Jupiter Sisters. The Jupiter Sisters were goddesses that had sacrificed themselves as the pillar to seal away the demons of old hell, or the Weiss that Keima and Elsi had mentioned earlier.

The goddesses right now were residing in human girls as they tried to regain their powers of love to leave their hosts. They enjoyed their lives with their human hosts, which they had grown attached to as friends but they did not wish to burden them any longer then they had to.

They were goddesses after all and their given mission was to seal away Weiss, demons from old hell that was threatening the peace of new hell. If the Weiss ever knew of their identity while they were still weak and vulnerable, there was no doubt that they would be targeted and subsequently be attacked.

It was something that they wanted to avoid at all cost and the goddesses thus were forced, no, that wasn't right. They were doing their best to help their hosts get closer to their target of affection, Katsuragi Keima.

Vulcan was one of the exceptions to the rule as she wasn't quite satisfied with her host and friend's choice in Keima. She believed that she could _do much_ better even if Keima did show his dedication by saving her from not one, but two life-threatening situations.

'Answer me truthfully, is this is your child with Tsukiyo?'

Vulcan asked crossly through the vessel she was currently occupying, Luna, and the **Capturing God** simply gave the doll a look that bordered on disrespectful as he sighed and asked Vulcan whether she had been paying attention at all.

'If she really was our child, why would Tsukiyo and you not have any memories of it?'

Keima answered reasonably again even as Vulcan fell silent while Tsukiyo blushed red again.

'Y-You pervert!'

The doll finally decided on a course of action and flew itself straight at Keima, who casually dodged it even as he re-focused on the person in question.

'You did say you are my daughter right? Let us determine that. What is your name then, little one?'

Keima was his usual self as he looked at the child, which would consist of him narrowing his eyes sternly while staring at the person's eyes. It was usual for him to study a particular subject with intense scrutiny if he was directing his full attention to it. The girls were used to it, even if it had been a little intimidating at times. But to subject it to a young child was perhaps overdoing it and Elsi wanted to stop her Kami-Onii-sama if not for the child to tilt her head, giggle a little before telling her name.

'Shuko! My name is Katsuragi Shuko! Father gave me that name!'

'… and what is the basis for that name?'

Keima asked patiently even as Elsi continued to pout, feeling that he was pushing the line. There's no way that a young child would know the basis of their name. Even if she did proudly declare herself to be part of the Katsuragi Household.

'Ano... erm... Father told me that... it's a nickname for 'Shujinko'!'

'… For protagonist?'

Keima felt a shudder run down his spine while faced with the disapproving stares of his sister as well as Tsukiyo. This was a perfect name for his daughter, if she really was one. Looks like the odds of her being his daughter, or at least, potential daughter was rising with every second.

'… Right, so Shuko...'

Keima was out of ideas at this point, that wasn't really true but he was out of ways that he could identify this particular individual without interacting more with her. She might be an intelligent child, that much was for sure, but he wasn't really sure she could understand most of what was going on. She was a Weiss after all and most importantly, she wasn't able to make the connection that none of her parents actually believed that she was their child.

Either the child was a great liar or she simply was too naïve and innocent, which Keima seriously doubted.

Mari would reappear and save the situation by coming back with a tray filled with drinks and dessert. The sight caused Shuko to clap her hands eagerly in anticipation while making happy noises.

The noises were infectious and they made Tsukiyo giggle a little even as the younger child ran over to give her 'mother' a quick hug, even making her way to sit on her lap beside Luna.

Vulcan wasn't a fool and she had dropped down beside Tsukiyo again even as Mari smiled at her children and at Tsukiyo.

'Here's some refreshments. Let's have some while we find out who the child belongs to. She might be a lost child you know, we should inform the police later on to have them help.'

'Her name is Shuko-chan, Oka-sama~'

Elsi added helpfully even as Elsi started passing out the drinks to the others. Keima on the other hand was frowning as he went back into his games. Shuko had actually advanced the story a little faster than he had thought she could. Then again, one might not know whether the young girl really did understood what was going on.

..

'… She selected a route?'

Keima muttered to himself, half in shock and half in surprise as he scrolled through the backlog of text that she had gone through.

All things considered it wasn't a bad choice but most telling was how she had actually went done the route that he had been gunning for. It could just be a coincidence though and she looked at the child curiously even as she started getting fed by Tsukiyo. His mother was also getting softer at seeing how gentle Tsukiyo was with the younger child, indulging and spoiling her quite a bit as she said that the cake was nice and how her 'mother' should have some too.

'Mother likes tea with a bit of honey, right? Right? Mother always made her tea like that, so I liked it too!'

Shuko beamed at her mother even as she watched Elsi drop a few drops of honey into their tea. Shuko hadn't wanted cold drinks and instead went immediately for the tea. Just that fact alone made Mari very happy. She didn't quite like those fizzy soft-drinks that the younger generation liked so much after all!

..

'T-That's right, Shuko-chan...'

Tsukiyo couldn't really react or behave properly in a prim and proper manner like she was brought up in front of this child. A part of it was how she was still coming to terms that even if it wasn't quite well, true, this girl was adamant that she was her daughter together with Keima. Just that thought was enough to cause the easily flustered girl to blush red as the implications of what it would entail to make it a reality. What was even worse was how the girl was very adorable as well, like Mari, Tsukiyo had a weakness for cute things and this girl was the definition of cute.

Yes, it was disappointing that she did not inherit the same hair color as hers, if she was blonde with blue eyes, she would have no defence against her.

But the last part was how comfortable and happy Shuko was with her. She was happy with the attention that Tsukiyo was giving her, even if she felt that it wasn't adequate nor was it really... real.

She was acting on impulse here, giving what Shuko wanted and listening to the child talking about how nice the food was and how she liked being with her mother.

That was... simply pampering and Tsukiyo realized with a start that was exactly what she didn't receive from her parents. Did Shuko go through the same thing she did?

'…'

But just as quickly as the thought appeared in her head, Tsukiyo tried her best to quash it as well. Even if it might be a possibility, it was probably best that she didn't dwell into it too much. For no matter what she had been through, it was also possible that this girl, Shuko, didn't go through the same thing she did.

Tsukiyo wanted to blame all of this on Keima, that he was the one who was throwing her entire life into a loop again with his tendencies to get into ridiculous situations like this one.

..

_'Are you mad, Tsukiyo?'_

Tsukiyo fought to remain her composure even as Vulcan spoke in her mind. Her goddess friend and companion had been excessively protective of her after that last threatening situation and she told her that she wasn't.

Well, not really.

_'… I was just caught by surprise... that's all. Even if... this girl isn't really my daughter, I... like her.'_

Tsukiyo answered shyly while her goddess friend went silent for a while before sighing and saying that even if she disapproved of a situation like this and that it was probably a farce. It wasn't wrong for Tsukiyo to blame the girl or to spoil her a little.

_'Seeing that she really does like you, Tsukiyo. Which is to be expected, who would not like someone as perfect like you?'_

Vulcan said so proudly to Tsukiyo even as the host continued to pamper Shuko. Everyone knew how Vulcan liked Tsukiyo as she had stressed and exaggerated to everyone that Tsukiyo was probably the fairest of them all, comparable to the goddess and angels themselves.

Tsukiyo herself had gotten a little tired of the praise that Vulcan showered on her. It might have helped her with some of her own confidence issues at the start and it really did help get over her own fear that she wasn't good enough for Keima.

Her, Kujyo Tsukiyo not good enough for Katsuragi Keima? The students of Mai-High would have had a field day learning about this ridiculous idea but to Tsukiyo it was a real and growing problem at that time.

Still, as time passed, Tsukiyo had started getting more than a little inured to Vulcan's praise. She knew that Vulcan didn't mean anything bad, but when Vulcan was obviously biased in her own opinion, it does lend less credit to her claims.

_'I understand, Vulcan... but like you said, the child does like to spend time with me. And I too, find it nice to spend time with her.'_

Tsukiyo replied to her goddess friend even as she nodded and allowed herself to be fed by Shuko as well, the child feeding her a spoonful of cake a little clumsily even as Mari complimented her on what she was doing.

'Shuko-chan, let me take your bag! It must be hard on Tsukiyo-chan too if you keep wearing it.'

Elsi offered a piece of cake dropped down on the bag that Shuko was hugging. To Elsi's surprise however, the girl gave the younger girl a suspicious look, hugged her bag harder and said that she didn't want to. The reaction made everyone around the table raise an eyebrow, less Elsi, who was actually a little distraught at that sight before she pouted.

'I'm Kami-Onii-sama's sister, Shuko-chan! You should be calling me Aunt Elsi if you're really Kami-Onii-sama's daughter!'

Elsi teased the younger girl while covering her mouth in a bid to hide the sad smile even as Keima started at Elsi's words.

..

That Elsi, she had gotten much better with her verbal wordplays as well but with Shuko staring at Keima for confirmation, he told her that it was true and that Elsi really was his sister.

'You can trust Aunt Elsi, Shuko.'

Keima forced himself to say those lines with a reassuring smile, causing Elsi to give her a big smile in return.

'… Okay... Aunt Elsi... Please take good care of Shuko's bag! Shuko's bag was given by father~ He gave me very important things that I would need in the future!'

Shuko was all smiles after handing the bag over to Elsi, who placed it beside her carefully even as Mari watched wryly at the inter-play between her children. Keima and Elsi's relationship had been changing for a while now but it was only recently did Mari could rightly say that her two children were now truly siblings.

The two of them had many rough patches, but they had finally reached the point where the two of them understood and trusted each other completely. Perhaps the entry of this new child into their lives could actually make it better?

'Wait, Shuko-chan...'

Mari was suddenly hit with a sense of deja vu and she asked Shuko nervously whether she did have a letter from her parents or anything that she needed to show her.

'Letter? I... didn't get any letter from mother, I just told them that I wanted to visit grandmother!'

Shuko answered innocently and Mari let out a relieved sigh. She was less relieved and more annoyed when she distinctively heard Keima stifle a chuckle even as he kept a straight face. A year ago, Mari couldn't have imagined that happening but she now knew that was probably due to how Elsi looked very sheepish and apologetic while scratching her head.

Tsukiyo however, was totally lost from the conversation and instead went about another angle to continue the conversation.

'Shuko-chan.'

Tsukiyo started hesitantly, her eyes shooting to eye Keima nervously for a moment before she continued.

'What exactly... does your father mean by, important things?'

Tsukiyo was curious about what Keima meant by the future but she had a sinking feeling that if she really was Keima's daughter, she knew exactly what Keima would deem as important to have around.

Tsukiyo had, together with most of the 'captured girls', seen first-hand what Keima always prepared around him even when they were going on a field trip together.

'Does mother want to see?'

Shuko's eyes gleamed in happiness as she hurried over to take the bag from Elsi, the little demon giving her curious and eager looks as well as Shuko unzipped her bag to show Tsukiyo what was inside it.

'… What...is that, Shuko-chan?'

Tsukiyo, forced herself to ask that question to her 'daughter' and to all that was present, it made them even more curious as to what she had seen in there. At least Tsukiyo didn't look angry, but she didn't look amused either. If Mari had to categorize it, it would fall into a mixture of confusion, resignation as well as despair.

Elsi knew that it was a common enough occurrence for Tsukiyo when she had anything to deal with her Kami-Onii-sama and she sympathized with her.

'This are spare batteries for father's PFP! I have one too, see?'

Shuko pulled out a similar looking device from her bag even as Keima dropped his own PFP in shock. Mari on the other hand had frozen in both disbelief and despair. Elsi herself was stuck between laughing and shock. Tsukiyo too was the same but it was all too much for all the females gathered when Keima reached out to pull Shuko into a hug.

'You are indeed my daughter.'

* * *

..

'I might have gotten a little carried away there.'

Keima admitted softly, blushing in embarrassment to the gathered females again as Shuko continued playing on her own PFP. Keima himself didn't quite mind having Shuko as his daughter now that it became clear that she had picked up and loved the _ideal_ as much as he did. As **God**, there was really nothing better than meeting more than just a convert, but someone who shares the exact same passion for what he loved.

Fuse Aoba was an example, but her situation was compounded as she was a 'captured girl' and had her own objectives that involved him.

Either way, all things considered, Weiss or not, Keima was highly satisfied with the girl named Katsuragi Shuko.

'Keima-kun, as nice as it is to see the two of you _are _getting along. We still don't know whether Shuko-chan really is your daughter...'

Mari cleared her throat to catch their attention and even if Keima looked sheepish, something that he only shows in front of Mari, Shuko was annoyed by that as she started grabbing onto Keima's arm stubbornly.

'No! Father, is father! Mother is mother! And Grandmother is grandmother!'

'Shuko-chan, calm down... I'm not saying it's not possible but...'

Mari had botched this one up quite badly and it was difficult for her to get out of this one as Shuko started asking Tsukiyo and Keima whether they had stopped loving her.

'Mother said that she loved Shuko! And father too! Does... does that mean that father and mother doesn't like Shuko now? Was it something I did? Was Shuko bad? What did Shuko do? I...I don't want father and mother to not love Shuko!'

The child started crying now and seeing that Keima wasn't really good with children, having no experience with this kind of things. Tsukiyo too was at a loss at what to do, her entire body frozen as the accusations hit her hard. Mari was the source of all this and Shuko was stubbornly rejecting her help as she buried her face into Keima's chest, rubbing her face and tears on his shirt.

'Don't cry any more, Shuko-chan! Aunt Elsi is here!'

Elsi surprised everyone however as she gently look Shuko from Keima, first by resting her hand on the child's back, rubbing it comfortingly before slowly coaxing Shuko to let go of Keima.

Without her clutching to Keima, Elsi gave Shuko a cup of tea to calm her down while she reassured her that it was nothing like that.

During the whole process, with Keima and Tsukiyo freed from the crying child, the two of them took the liberty to shoot accusing glances at Mari. The older woman wilted a little at that sight, though a part of her was having a complicated time deciding whether it was a good or bad thing for the two young teenagers to really act and look like the role of doting parents.

Mari was pretty sure that they didn't mean it too, with Tsukiy blushing all of a sudden and Keima starting a moment later.

It would be cute, if it wasn't disturbing as well. Her son would NEVER be attached to the child... would he?

..

All that was interrupted when the door bell rang before the person invited herself into the house through Cafe Grandpa's entrance. Mari would be upset about that if not for the fact that it was someone that they recognized, it was Elsi's and Keima's friend, Haqua.

'I came as soon as I could, Elsi! Gomen, Yukie wanted me to help her with something...'

Haqua smiled sheepishly before greeting Mari and Tsukiyo and then giving Keima a curt nod that made the **Capturing God** relieved as well. So Haqua was up to date with the situation. That's good, he might need all the help he could get.

'Mother!'

Shuko's voice once again made everyone silent as the young child ran out of Elsi's grip to hug Haqua on the leg like how she had done to Mari before.

'Shuko had been a good girl, just like how mother told me to be!'

The bombshell was enough to condemn the entire room to silence again as for the first time today, Mari passed out in front of them.

'Ehh?!'

* * *

**Author's Notes: R&R people!**


	3. Side 1 - Chapter 3

The World Only The Girls Knows: Side Collection

**Short One – Chapter 3**

**Note: Characters from the Light Novel will be Included as well.**

...

Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki

Written by: wrathie

**Author's Notes: This particular story is on a similar timeline as BRP/MW.**

* * *

**Author's Notes: I'm having fun with this.**

* * *

..

Haqua de lut Herminium was a demon from New Hell, similar to what Elsi was and she was a very proud, capable and confident young woman to her friends and classmates in Mai-High.

Like Elsi, her mission here was to help capture the Weiss, the demons of old hell, that was plaguing the human women. The goal of the old hell demons was to be reborn as women's children in order to regain their powers. They do this by occupying and expanding the gap in a woman's heart. The negative emotions from their heart was their source of power and by feeding and increasing the gap in the woman's heart, they would subsequently gain and restore their sealed away powers.

Haqua was also a district chief, a person in charge of overlooking and guarding a particular district that was split up by New Hell amongst their operatives. Last but not least, Haqua was also a friend of Elsi and though grudgingly, a one and off ally of Elsi's buddy, Katsuragi Keima.

They couldn't be described as close, not with Haqua trying her best to not get too involved with Keima's business and Keima's own wish to not involve Haqua as well. Even if it hadn't been very obvious at the beginning, Keima finally noticed that even Elsi had her own pride about her chosen partner and line of work as well.

Elsi had been working very hard after all, and it would simply be unfair for Elsi if Keima didn't rely on her partner for their missions. However, this particular one was a little tricky. It was not the first time that they had seen a Weiss separate themselves from their host. This wasn't also their first time seeing a Weiss take a totally independent role and goal expected from a normal Weiss itself.

At least, Keima knew that there were Weiss that did not fit the traditional image of a demonic identity; trying to subject their host to a barrage of negativity to fulfil their nefarious purposes. There were Weiss who were a lot more half-hearted at that. One good example would be the Weiss of Grandma Hinaga, the Weiss in her heart wasn't very strong due to her age and in the end had simply gave her an avenue to vent out her stress.

Even Ikoma Minami's Weiss had been half-hearted at best, and it's up to debate whether the Weiss actually did any harm to her.

Kosaka Chihiro's Weiss and her situation was compounded due to Keima's own actions, he inadvertently widened the gap in her heart after all and so there really wasn't any sign of the Weiss hurting her. Last but not least, even Kasuga Kusonoki's Weiss didn't really hurt her. Yes, the other self did have her own goal of trying to take over her body but all things considered, seeing that it _was_ a part of Kusonoki that she had suppressed herself, Keima knew it didn't count.

There were many kinds of Weiss out there with different abilities after all and so Haqua shouldn't be surprised. She really shouldn't be, especially when it has something to do with Katsuragi Keima, the most annoying and mysterious human she ever met.

But all Haqua managed to do was to barely stop her legs wobbling like jelly, her face turning bright red like a cherry. Finally losing the battle, she dropped to her knees in shock at being called that by a child.

A child that she knew exactly was not what she looked like. This child was most probably a Weiss, a demon from New Hell that was trying to regain their power at the expense of human women.

The burden that they placed on the girls that they possessed wasn't a pushover either. From what Keima had described it to her during that one spell where he was subjected to a Weiss, it took a very severe toll on all of them, even if they themselves had went on their daily lives as normal.

It was Keima's belief that it was probably a placebo effect that allowed them to shrug off that uneasy and stressful feeling inside them without any serious side effects. At the same time, it was also probably due to how the Weiss hadn't quite shown their true power yet.

The stronger the Weiss, the more adverse the effects they can cause and Haqua, being a demon of new hell, knew that.

So she was just as angry and humiliated at herself for falling into the same trap that Tsukiyo did earlier.

'Mother!'

The young girl cried out again as she looked up at her eagerly and happily, her hands reaching out to hold Haqua's own before she reacted and snatched her hand away.

..

'Mother?'

The young girl tried again, this time panic had grew into her voice and she looked like she was about to cry. Sure enough, tears started forming around her eyes and Haqua swore that she saw the girl's eyes swirl around as she started crying.

'D-Does mother not love Shuko anymore? Did Shuko did wrong again? Mother... Shuko, she love mother a lot! But... mother doesn't love Shuko?'

The young girl babbled for a while by herself and Haqua found herself feeling extremely guilty for making a young girl cry like that. No, she was _NOT _a young girl, she was a Weiss! And Weiss should _not_ be pitied!

At least, that's what Haqua told herself even as she found herself kneeling in front of the young child with an apologetic expression. It felt wrong, no, it was wrong for her to treat a child in that way.

Perhaps it was that maternal instinct inside her that had been awakened the moment she saw the child. It was even more embarrassing to admit that to herself in her head though!

'Ah-ah... it's not that I... dislike you or anything... erm...'

'M-Mother... doesn't dislike Shuko? T-Then, mother, loves Shuko?'

The young child managed to give a tentative smile back to Haqua and she had to fight the urge to flinch back at being exposed to her crying face. This was karma for something, Haqua knew it instinctively as she was caught between a rock and a very very hard place.

If she said no now, there was no doubt that she would never be forgiven by anyone. But if she did say so, she's just inviting a chance for the Weiss to get closer to her. Come to think of it... a Weiss wouldn't contact someone who was about to seal them away right?

Vintage, the organisation that wanted to revive Old Hell notoriously hated and despised demons that were born from New Hell. A Weiss would surely never approach a member of the Weiss Capturing Squad that easily... right?

'I-I guess... I do, Shuko-chan, was it?'

Haqua gave into the unrelenting pressure from her own heart as well as the others in the end. Haqua also forced a smile as she allowed Shuko to hug her again, her little arms unable to wrap around her waist as she snuggled against her.

'Shuko is happy!'

Even as the potential disaster was dealt with, Haqua was suddenly aware of a more pressing and even more disastrous scenario as she felt another presence however behind her. When Haqua entered the room, or to be exact, when she accepted the plea of help from Elsi, she was aware that the Weiss/Shuko, had already attached herself to Tsukiyo.

As to why the Weiss had done that was unknown at that point of time but Haqua already had already thought of a few different theories on why that happened. One of them considered the fact that Tsukiyo was a host to a goddess. Perhaps the Weiss was after the Goddess inside her! Another was that Tsukiyo was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. If the Weiss was possessing Mari, like what Elsi had suspected, Tsukiyo might just be the most convenient target.

Come to think of it, this was the second time, at least she was aware of, of a Weiss that had been undetected by the Weiss detector till it was too late. Perhaps it's time to actually get it looked at. Or it was just Elsi's detector that was faulty...?

..

Haqua was forcibly removed from her own thoughts when the pressing presence of the Goddess that she was ignoring decided that she was _done_ being ignored. Haqua felt a pair of cold hands clasped on her shoulder and she sighed while simultaneously shuddered at the contact. The malice and unhappiness radiating from the Goddess wasn't strong, but coming from a _Goddess_, meant that Haqua couldn't ignore it. Not for any longer.

'Could you care to explain yourself, Haqua-san?'

Vulcan's voice was being calm, too calm really and Haqua found herself struggling to come up with something as a reply till she caught sight of her savior. Or in this case, her lifeline.

'It's all Katsuragi's fault!'

* * *

..

'So have the two of you calmed down yet?'

Keima suppressed his own sigh after calming the two girls by himself. Elsi was occupied helping Mari to a bed to rest while taking care of Shuko. The young child was probably more trouble than she was worth at this point, but he was loathe to just dislike her just because of what she had brought with her.

Shuko reminded Keima, ironically, of Elsi's entrance into his and Mari's life. Only hers was more life threatening and changing... Oh, who was he kidding, this young girl had even more potential in destroying a family from the inside out.

Keima realized that he wasn't behaving like he usually was, that was, to be analytical and subjective about things. But then again, Keima reasoned that it might not be a bad thing in this case. Whatever the Weiss's powers was, it was affecting all of them to a certain extent.

Elsi was kind-hearted by nature, she didn't have a single bad bone in her body but she had never shown any indication that she would want to and turn out to be good at taking care of others. Indeed, Elsi seemed to be more the type to be taken care of than being the caretaker of anyone at all.

As for himself, considering how he had lost control a moment earlier by being delighted and even acknowledging that the girl could be his daughter was also a break of his own character. Even knowing that the girl was a potential Weiss hadn't stopped his reaction... so it was possible, wasn't it?

Focusing on himself, it was still possible for him to overeact when it came to the _ideal... _Even if it was frustrating to actually admit it.

Keima decided that Haqua had probably the same problem he did. Haqua had came in here informed of what she should expect to see, and yet had been occupied as she tried hard to keep up with Shuko who was on her PFP.

Tsukiyo too was surprisingly accepting of this, though Keima could chalk that up as her recognizing that with Shuko around, she had a distinctive edge in making him hers.

It was a sobering thought, but it was nothing that Keima hadn't expected, or had foreseen or had experienced in the _ideal._ No use worrying about that now as well, there was work to be done.

..

'Yes, I apologize for losing my temper earlier.'

Tsukiyo replied calmly before giving Haqua a bow in apology. Haqua herself blushed, no doubt remembering the cat-fight that had broken out earlier. Tsukiyo had been strangely protective of Shuko, claiming that she was this child's mother loudly to her and had even gone to the lengths of trying to pull the child away from her.

Haqua, having been caught flat-footed by that statement, could only gawk at her in shock even as Shuko tried to return to her side. It was most disconcerting for Tsukiyo to see Shuko, the child who had been so attached to her earlier squirm as she tried to return to Haqua. Tsukiyo had never once considered Haqua a love rival, believing that the two of them's friendship and relationship was purely professional in nature.

Subsequently Tsukiyo had taken that as a challenge and they had started arguing with each other while trying to take Shuko from each other.

Actually that wasn't quite right, it was more of Tsukiyo trying to stake a claim over Shuko and Shuko changing her mind every few minutes on who was her real mother.

The madness finally ended when Haqua, probably regaining herself, announced that there was no way that she would ever, accept Keima as being the father for her child.

That was enough to cause Shuko to break into tears again, this time howling as she ran over to give Keima a big hug. Keima had no idea why she did that, though again, he had a few theories. Shuko was most likely sad that she was being abandoned by her mother (Haqua) or just wanted to conform her father.

Either way, it was a confusing situation that the other interested party, Katsuragi Keima was scrutinizing the entire time at the side lines. It was confusing situation seeing how Shuko was only interested in only one potential 'mother' at one time and subsequently ignoring the previous one. He couldn't observe any particular pattern or reason for her choice, at least for the moment. Also, another key thing that he took note was how Shuko never seemed willing to directly say her mother's name out loud.

Keima believed that it was probably due to the nature of her being a Weiss that prevented or made her refuse to name a particular individual. If she did, there would be no doubt that the facade would quickly dismantled by both Keima and the 'mother'.

All things considered, it wasn't that bad of a strategy to sow discord or to create confusion amongst those affected parties. Keima was willing to admit that he himself would have been swept up in the madness if Mari hadn't fainted on the spot there.

'Ahaha... Gomen, me too. I... knew what was going on but...'

Haqua smiled and bowed sheepishly at Tsukiyo while scratching her head. After listening to how Haqua admitted that she too had been caught flat-footed, Tsukiyo blushed and said that she was at fault as well.

'I do apologize, Haqua-san... It seems that I acted without thinking... just knowing that there is potential for the two of you to be together...'

Tsukiyo drifted off, her eyes narrowing suspiciously even as Haqua waved her hands in front of her in denial.

'No-No way! There's no way that I'll even date Katsuragi! He's not worth it for one! A-Anyway, we shouldn't be arguing about this... Katsuragi, how are you going to explain this to Mari?'

Haqua shook her head to clear the offending and tempting thoughts and subsequently redirected the conversation to something more meaningful; cleaning the aftermaths.

Tsukiyo however didn't seem too happy about that, but she relented as it was something she was concerned about. Another thing that she was very concerned about was how Luna had disappeared during their... little argument earlier... Tsukiyo knew Vulcan was up to something, she just hoped that it wasn't something drastic...

..

'We'll have to play it by ear.'

Keima's confession left the girls present in the room to just gawk at him. Did Katsuragi Keima, the person who always had his own hidden agendas, plans and failsafes just admit to playing things by ear?

'A-Ah, I'm sorry, I must have misheard you, Katsuragi... You did say that you have something in mind, right?'

Haqua asked nervously while Tsukiyo nodded her head eagerly as well, the blonde girl just as unnerved as Haqua was. If even Keima was out of ideas, what was the hope that they themselves could do anything about it.

'That's what I said, we'll have to hope for the best.'

'You've got to be kidding!'

'No, I'm not.'

Keima shook his head while placing Shuko's PFP down. She was playing a game that he played before, but the save file was obviously not his. The Weiss had done a good job here but that wasn't the point now, no, that really wasn't.

'If I do have Shuko's co-operation, there might be a way to limit and handle the situation. However since she probably has her own agenda, or is simply too naïve, having our own cover-story would simply add to the distrust between us and Mari.'

Keima's reasoning made the two girls tilt their head before Haqua tried summarizing what he just said.

'So basically Shuko-chan herself would not follow our story and that would make us look like we're lying.'

'Exactly.'

Keima nodded his head to confirm her words but before he could go on, he heard a loud banging noise that made everyone jump.

Subsequently, the sounds of angry footsteps could be heard coming towards the living room. It invoked a sense of Deja vu for Keima and he knew what was going to happen even before the door was flung open.

'Katsuragi, what is this about you having a daughter with Onee-sama!'

The goddess Diana flung open the door angrily, almost ripping the door off it's hinges as she glared at the girls that were present. Tsukiyo was frozen but then gave a sigh and rubbed her own head as she saw Luna drooped over Diana's shoulders. The goddess must have slipped out to fetch her sister to defend Tsukiyo, but this was surely a bad time.

Everyone could see where this was going now as even before Diana could walk towards them, the sound of small footsteps warned them off what was going to happen.

..

Haqua, Keima and Tsukiyo all sighed as one as a small figure clung on to Diana's legs, making her stumble a little before catching herself.

'What in the world...? Is this the child?'

Diana blinked even as Vulcan said that she was.

'Mother came back!'

The same line from Shuko made Vulcan/Luna, drop from Diana's shoulders even as the goddess turned beet red, steam figuratively pouring out of her ears as she just stared at Shuko.

'Ehe~'

Shuko giggled happily even as Elsi finally caught up with Shuko before kneeling down beside her.

'There, there Shuko-chan... you shouldn't bother your mother now...'

Elsi gave Diana an apologetic look before taking Shuko's hand and leading her away.

'Shuko-chan said that she wanted to be with grandmother right? She'll be happy to see you when she wakes up!'

Elsi coaxed the young girl softly and after a while Shuko nodded and followed Elsi's lead. But not before she told Diana that she was going to stay with grandmother.

'Mother should come to!'

'A-Ah...'

Diana could only give a weak reply and she continued staring at Shuko till she disappeared up the stairs. There was a brief pause again before Diana whirled around to point to Katsuragi.

'You! And Tenri! What did you do!'

Diana pointed an accusing finger at Keima before blinking and shaking her head in confusion.

'Wait, there's just no way...'

..

Keima was satisfied seeing how Diana seemed confused herself, although things were surely going to be complicated with the entry of Diana and Tenri, at least Diana was able to control herself a lot better than Vulcan and Tsukiyo.

'What's this about you and Katsuragi, Diana? I thought I told you that Goddesses can't fall in love with humans!'

What Keima didn't expect was to see Vulcan/Luna, rising from behind Diana ominously before latching onto the back of her head.

'O-Onee-sama!'

'Sit down, Diana! Let me remind you what we goddesses should stand for!'

* * *

**Author's Notes: I'm NOT going to get all the girls involved. it'll take too long if I do that. I'll have to introduce all the girls I'm going to involve this first.**


	4. Side 1 - Chapter 4

The World Only The Girls Knows: Side Collection

**Short One – Chapter 4**

**Note: Characters from the Light Novel will be Included as well.**

..

Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki

Written by: wrathie

**Author's Notes: This particular story is on a similar timeline as BRP/MW.**

* * *

**Author's Notes: No beta for this. I'm working through a load of stress.**

**Which ironically makes me write more. On a second, more important note. This chapter contains ALOT of hints of what's is in the works for Moonflower's Wish. Interpret it as you would!**

* * *

..

Katsuragi Keima, the **Capturing God** was not even going to bother with asking whether the girls had calmed down this time. He had not given up on solving this problem, in fact, he could already see the ending of this whole story. It was simply that he could not act on all that information that he gathered so far. That and he was concerned about the entire situation and the repercussions if he allowed Shuko to continue to mingle with the girls unattended. Was this the power and goal of the Weiss, to sow discord amongst the girls that he had captured? No, that wasn't it... if the Weiss had really planned all this, the situation would be even more chaotic than before. It should be just a lucky break for the Weiss to encounter such a strange situation where it's abilities and guise had the capacity to cause even more confusion and perhaps heartbreak than before.

However, it was also an unlucky break for the Weiss for Keima was certain that the Weiss was not causing any gaps in any of the girls' heart. In fact, he was pretty sure that it had just raised even more flags than before from how all of them were reacting. It seems that the competitive spirit to gain a foothold in his heart was heating up again.

It had been quite a peaceful week for once too... the _real_ really wanted him out of the _ideal_ but Keima digressed, this wasn't the time for inner monologues.

'So Mari-san is resting now... We have some time to go through the situation together before she wakes up.'

Haqua cleared her throat while looking away. She purposefully did not look at Tenri, who was currently absent-mindedly accompanying Shuko as the young girl continued playing her game on the PFP. Keima had so far resisted the urge to look at the games that Shuko had played, both for the sake of his sanity as well as his an unconscious fear that told him that it was dangerous if he did so. Keima had been in a few dangerous situations so far but this particular feeling of his came from his instincts as a **God**, it simply told him not to let his curiosity get the better of him no matter what.

'I concur... This situation is getting out of hand... and would stand to get even more if someone else visits you, Katsuragi.'

Tsukiyo sniffed a little unhappily as she stuck her nose up in the air snobbishly as she declared to all of them. She was not happy that her private time with Keima and Shuko was interrupted not once but twice and suddenly out of the blue she had two contenders for Shuko's attention! Tsukiyo was upset not only at that, but at the relative ease that the young girl was able to cling on to the other two girls. For their part, Haqua was just flustered and uneasy around her. Vulcan's sister, Diana on the other hand, had totally been won over by Shuko, oddly so. Thankfully for her, Diana had hid herself in her host, Tenri's body. The braided girl didn't seem too upset or embarrassed by Shuko's attention, which was odd for Tsukiyo, but she was still happy about it.  
After all, even they had only met for a short smile, Tsukiyo was totally smitten with the adorable Shuko! She didn't care if she was not her and Keima's child now, to know that there was such perfection after Luna was just astounding!

Tsukiyo also knew that Vulcan liked the girl very much despite her misgivings about her claim of being her and Keima's daughter so she knew that it wasn't just her.

..

'That would be a good idea, provided that all the parties involved are willing to talk about this right in front of her.'

Keima deadpanned softly as he glanced at Shuko. The young child was focused on her games and had been since half an hour ago when Vulcan had seen fit to stop the lecture she had given Diana. It had been a little amusing to see the serious, too serious Diana get flustered in front of people that she genuinely respected. One of them was of course her sister, Vulcan and the other two...

Diana's respect for Keima was plain to everyone, he was the individual who had helped reunite her with her sisters in a single day, at a great personal risk too, but the most important part was how it had effectively made him a living target as well. Another thing to not was how Keima already knew Diana had shown signs that she was attracted to him as well.

Well, the other sisters like Mercury, Minerva and Apollo had shown their interest as well but they had steered cleared due to their hosts. Diana on the other hand... well, it was a complicated matter that Keima was loathe to get involved just yet.

The other person was Haqua, which was a surprise to Keima. The two of them had apparently interacted before the fiasco involving the goddess and had already developed a grudging respect for each other.

That respect had grown quickly when the two of them had teamed up to protect each other during that dangerous situation. Keima guessed that unlike Aoba, who was an intellect like the two of them, Diana was actually more in tuned with the _'world' _then Aoba was. Why it was better simply boggles Keima's mind, but that was besides the point. The main point was that Diana had been humiliated and embarrassed beyond belief by the child/Weiss. So it was very surprising to see Diana accepting and even liking the child so readily.

Tenri on the other hand, had gotten over the initial shock easily, which was yet another surprise. Keima would have thought that his neighbour would be flustered beyond belief but she seemed to have her emotions in check as she looked around nervously around her.

Perhaps Tenri could sense how tense he was in actuality and that alone was enough for her to keep her focus on the fact that although Shuko was adorable, she was a Weiss. In the meantime, Elsi tried her best to coax Shuko elsewhere more convenient for the rest to hold a strategy meeting. Unfortunately, Shuko hadn't been happy about the idea and simply refused to budge from one of her 'mothers'.

'Shuko-chan, would you want to have some water? Your father and mother wants some privacy together, is that okay?'

Keima watched as Elsi took the direct approach, bending down to smile at Shuko cheerfully even as the young girl pouted at Keima after looking away from Elsi. It had taken a while, but Keima believed that he had came to a conclusion and a theory about what was the criteria that made Shuko view a girl as a potential mother.

Weiss gain power through the gap in a human girl's heart after all, if one followed that logic then...

Keima waited for a while after Shuko and Elsi left the room before clearing his throat to get the attention of everyone in the room once again.

'I believe that a by product of the Weiss's power is for it to tap into Mari's memories. By doing so it would enable the Weiss to pick out potential suitors for the title of a 'mother'. That could explain why Elsi was not chosen as a target to be a 'mother'.'

Keima explained his theory to the girls and for the most part, was easily accepted by most of them. The exception to that was of course, Haqua, who seemed a little outraged that she was considered someone who would ever get hitched with Keima.

'I-I would never! One must be blind to think that is possible! It must be your fault, Katsuragi, for making Mari-san think this way!'

Haqua's tsun-tsun side aside, Keima noticed that the other girls seemed satisfied by this development, a few of them even seemed proud of that development.

'Tsundere's aside.'

Keima gave Haqua a very dry look that made the demon turn redder than ever before she averted her eyes. Keima was the **Capturing God**, he was loathe to point that out to everyone but he had been aware of the feelings that resided in Haqua for a very long time now. It was inevitable, he supposed, but it still was something that he would rather ignore if he could.

'I believe that I've seen the ending of this particular story... as well as the source of the gap in Mari's heart. I'll end it tonight.'

The statement was delivered without hesitation, without emotion too as he waited patiently for the girls to properly wrap their minds around the idea. Just like he expected, most of the girls were simply staring at him incredulously. Were they simply shocked that he was able to see the ending so easily? Or were they just disappointed that this scenario that they were currently in would end just as quickly as it began? Or were they attached to Shuko already?

All those possibilities were possible and Keima was unsure which one, or if all of them were applicable to the 'captured' girls and goddesses in front of him.

'Keima-kun, you... would be willing to make... Shuko disappear?'

Tenri spoke out loud nervously and she blushed when the other girls nodded as well, and seeing that she was suddenly the spokesperson for all the girls present made her even more nervous.

Despite all that, Tenri was able to gather the courage to continue on, she swallowed nervously before asking Keima whether he'll be fine with that.

'A-After all, Shuko-chan... even if she is a Weiss... she likes you and Mari-san... just letting her disappear like that without telling Mari... it seems... cruel... Even if she might not remember, if she did, like us... it'll be... bad.'

Tenri finished nervously, her hands already ready to cover her face if Keima scolded her. But Keima did not have any intentions to do so as he simply narrowed his eyes and admitted that it was something that he didn't consider as well.

'That is true... if we ended it so abruptly... it might cause repercussions if something similar like that happened.'

Keima remembered the week in which all the Captured Girls regained their memories, if Mari ever had an episode like that without them explaining Shuko's disappearance it would mean the end of his life.

Literally, Mari might not look like it, but from how she took in Elsi easily, Mari was an individual who took friendship and kinship very strongly. Making Shuko disappear without a trace and without an explanation would be the most efficient way but at the same time, the most alarming for Mari as well if she did not know what was going.

Unfortunately like Keima said, since Shuko was unlikely to actually cooperate with them, it would be up to them to make a little show for Mari and Shuko.

'She is a Weiss, Tenri... despite her appearance as well as her... traits and knowledge, she is still a Weiss. I have never seen an example of a possessed individual becoming better off due to a possession. Mari, my mother, is being possessed by a Weiss... but I do acknowledge and is thankful for your concern, Tenri. Time is however still the essence.'

Keima's answer made the other girls nod in recognition. They had forgotten that despite how adorable and cute Shuko was, she was still a Weiss and being a Weiss, she was probably hurting Mari somewhere.

Keima had a pretty good idea on what the gap in Mari's heart was, it was quite obvious after all...

'So... what is the gap in Mari-san's heart, Katsuragi?'

Tsukiyo asked softly even as she waited patiently for her answer, the petite blonde didn't seem too happy about the development but had mellowed down considerably after hearing that Mari might be suffering at the moment.

'The most likely conclusion that I can draw is that it was probably due to the unique situation we are in... as well as my indecisiveness.'

Keima answered matter-of-factedly but his answer made the entire room stunned, most of the girl's jaw actually dropped a little. It was probably an exaggeration at this point, but it was true that everyone was both scandalized that Keima could answer that question so casually without feeling embarrassed or ashamed of himself. That was not even considering how he was able and willing to include himself and that... situation as a cause for all this without even sounding guilty.

'I-In the end, it WAS your fault after all!'

Haqua's howl spoke for everyone that was present.

* * *

..

'Say Ah~~'

Tsukiyo smiled even as she started feeding Shuko some ice-cream. Tsukiyo knew instinctively that she was spoiling the young girl, but Shuko had been very disappointed that she had not been able to spend time with her mother and father like she wanted to.

Although the idea of all the 'mothers' but one leaving to lessen the confusion had been mooted, none of them had been able to come to consensus on who should leave and who should stay.

Well, the only exception to that rule was Tenri, who had been quite happy to bow out if not for Diana, who insisted on staying to stop Keima from corrupting the young child even more.

Tsukiyo and Vulcan agreed with the sentiment, but not with Diana's actions. Vulcan could tell that her younger sister was very smitten with the young girl and not for the first time, wondered what had happened to the serious side of Diana. That was actually quite a rhetorical question, Vulcan knew exactly what was wrong with Diana.

Diana had utterly fallen in love with Keima, that was despite all the despicable things that Keima was capable of and it really had Vulcan fuming. Diana's host too was being a little too accepting of the situation for her liking but Vulcan had never really considered Tenri a love rival at all. In fact, Diana was more fond of a jealousy streak than her host.

Ironically, it was exactly Tenri's own passiveness and contentment with the current situation that Keima viewed Tenri more favorably than Diana. As the **Capturing God**, he knew that the time for him to make a _decision_ would come eventually, but for now, it would be best to let sleeping dogs lie. He had no interest in the internal politics and squabbling of the girls. His primary objective and goal at this point was to stop the denizens of Old Hell and to seal all the Weiss away and for that purpose, he needed the Goddess's aid and thus could ill afford any bad blood between them.

Bad blood between the girls themselves would be troubling too, but internal power struggles was unavoidable due to how he was stalling. Such was the **Capturing God's** complex life, everything and anything could lead to a good or a bad end.

..

Still, Vulcan herself was unsure what Diana saw in that young girl for her to actually dote on her so much. Even if Haqua was hesitant in approaching and interacting with Shuko, she looked happy when the young child tried her best to engage her in the best of her abilities. Even if it was something out of Haqua's depth, the devil was happy enough to indulge in her wilfulness for more than necessary

Seeing that most of Shuko's attempts to get her 'mother's' attention was through her PFP, Vulcan knew that she was already 'tainted' by her 'father'.

Keima had theorized that it was probably the Weiss that was affecting them, causing the potential 'mothers' to react favorably to Shuko. This theory was proven when Tsukiyo made a remark about how Shuko had very beautiful dark brown hair and Haqua blinking and saying that Shuko had inherited her hair color instead.

Diana had chipped in by saying that she thought Shuko was wearing glasses when she obviously was not. So it wasn't much of a surprise when Shuko said she didn't know what they were talking about and asked Keima for clarification on what she looked like.

Embarrassingly for all of them, Keima had taken it as a challenge and declared that Shuko had light green hair, heterochromia with one eye colored brown and the other green.

Shuko had turned out to be like that in an instant and although she remained adorably cute, it was a sure sign that Shuko was a Weiss after all despite everyone's wishes for her to be real.

Well, the only exception to that wish was Elsi and Keima, the two of them were handling and coping with this situation in a different manner than the other girls were doing. The 'mothers' were content in sheltering and indulging in Shuko, speaking with her and reading to her while Keima discussed with Elsi at great lengths on how they were going to end this charade for everyone involved.

..

'Keima-kun.'

It was Tenri who suddenly interrupted the two of them and the two members of the Katsuragi household looked up to see Tenri clutching her own wrist nervously before continuing. Despite looking down initially, Tenri gathered the courage to ask Keima again whether he was fine with it.

Whether he was really okay with letting Shuko disappear without giving Mari a chance to know what was going on or to help her without even letting her spend more time with Shuko. Keima paused before giving Elsi a look. The younger demon knew what he wanted and she hurried over to coax Shuko to help her wash the dishes from dinner.

Mari had not woken up from her faint thanks to Elsi and Haqua's fiddling with their raiment, even if Keima felt a little bad in treating Mari like that, the alternative was even more harmful for Keima.

It might seem to be a good idea for Mari and Shuko to spend more time with each other in first glance. For a Weiss to occupy Mari's heart meant that Mari had a sizeable gap in her heart, one that had been eating into her for quite a while.

Letting a child like Shuko, who Mari obviously liked would in theory help Mari close that gap inside her heart.

But that was not the case at all. Even if Mari was hypnotized or even if she truly believed that Shuko was her grandchild through the use of memory modification, it would only serve to widen the gap in her heart instead.

Keima wasn't entirely sure whether the gap in Mari's heart was due to loneliness at being left behind by her children due to what had happened over the past few weeks, despair over how complicated his state of affairs were or perhaps worry for the future but he did knew that the Weiss choose to materialize as that form for a reason.

'Yes. It is indefinitely better for Mari to spend less time with Shuko. The mere fact that the Weiss choose that particular form to appear in is a good indicator that it is a form that would increase the gap in her heart. A Weiss does not help an individual, Tenri. All the Weiss I've met so far have used their powers to increase and expand the gap in their host's heart. There has been no indication that this particular Weiss has done so differently, letting Shuko spend time with Mari is not advisable.'

Keima's reasoning was delivered coolly and it made all the girls uncomfortable. They were used to Keima being detached but seeing him behave and speak so coldly towards someone who obviously liked him was uncomfortable to all the girls.

'Another thing to note is that all of us have already been influenced by the Weiss... I am not exempted from the influence of the Weiss.'

Keima twitched a little as he inhaled deeply before adjusting his glasses and continuing.

'Haqua, you knew about the situation and yet was still willing to accept the Weiss... just that one fact had me on edge and suspicious. To what extent is the Weiss manipulating us in the first place? It has been able to endear itself into our hearts despite us knowing it is a Weiss. To put it simply, it is trying to get us to accept that Shuko is not a Weiss and even if she is one, she is a harmless one.'

Keima's train of thought was a dark one and it made Tsukiyo narrow her eyes while saying that it might not be that way, that it could be just Keima over-thinking things.

'Yes, that is true... but do you want to take the chance, Tsukiyo?'

Keima rebutted shamelessly even as he stood up and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

'I've seen the ending for this. Even if it hurts all of you, even if it might be me over-thinking things. I would not allow Katsuragi Shuko to exist any longer in this world. Not when she is just a pale imitation of the things that we secretly desire in another. Nothing good would come in having the wool being pulled over our eyes by a Weiss. It ends tonight.'

It was probably the coldest thing that Keima had ever said to all of them, probably, one could never know truly know with Katsuragi Keima.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Oh that's right, please pardon me for any mistakes. This chapter comes fresh from the oven!**


	5. Side 1 - Chapter 5 (Final)

The World Only The Girls Knows: Side Collection

**Short One – Chapter 5**

**Note: Characters from the Light Novel will be Included as well.**

..

Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki

Written by: wrathie

**Author's Notes: This particular story is on a similar timeline as BRP/MW.**

* * *

**Author's Notes: I consulted two Betas for this. Thank you, _AKAAkira_ for your comments as well as feed back. Thank him for the earlier than usual release for this (check my bottom ANs), and _Kaiser Dude_ for the beta-edit. Thank you.**

* * *

'Eh...'

Katsuragi Mari suddenly found herself staring at a strange and unfamiliar driveway with Shuko-chan. The young child was smiling up at her even as she waited patiently for Mari to continue speaking.

'Where... am I, Shuko-chan?'

The last thing Mari remembered was fainting from having hearing Shuko calling Haqua her mother as well. It had been such a big jump of reality that she couldn't quite keep up with all of them.

'I'm bringing grandmother to father and mother! Grandmother, you said you wanted to see father and mother secretly so I kept it a secret from mother and father!'

'Father... and mother, you mean Keima-kun and...?'

Mari paused before she looked around at her surroundings. Besides the driveway, the small house that was connected to it, everything else was obscured by a white mist.

'… I must be dreaming.'

Mari mumbled to herself before nodding her head and going with the flow. What the heck, if she was dreaming after all, there's no harm in seeing how it would end; at least it was too peaceful to be a nightmare.

'I can just pinch myself.'

Mari mumbled again before nodding to Shuko, the young girl had a confused look on her face as she stared back at Mari.

'Let's go, Shuko-chan. I'm dying to meet Keima-kun and his wife, your mother, Shuko-chan.'

Mari smiled happily at Shuko and her smile got bigger when Shuko nodded eagerly as well, a very happy smile lightening up her entire face as she hands wrapped around hers tighter.

'Let's go, let's go! Father hasn't seen grandmother for a very very long time! Shuko knows that father would be happy to see grandmother again!'

Even as Mari asked herself why did Shuko say that, she allowed Shuko to lead her down the driveway to the front door.

Shuko subsequently dug deep into her pockets to look for her keys before unlocking the door and running in, shouting as she did so.

'Father! Grandmother is here to visit!'

Shuko's voice echoed through the hallway, even as Mari looked around curiously before smiling in resignation.

The place was furnished well, clean too, and even if Mari was relieved that Keima's merchandise wasn't immediately visible the moment she stepped into the porch, Mari knew that this was her sons' home.

It was like an ordinary home, which has a shoe cabinet, a well-established living room as well as a spacious eating quarters, but the key difference from an ordinary home was the many cabinets that held the familiar looking game packages that Keima had arranged meticulously even at his grandfather's home.

The place was nice enough though, and Mari was happy to see that whatever this dream meant, it showed that Keima was doing well. Now if only this was a premonition of the future and not just a random dream, Mari's life would be complete.

..

'…'

However, if there was just one sign that proved this was really her Keima's home, Mari would say 'that' was it. Placed on a dresser beside the dining room table, Mari found a small framed picture of the entire Katsuragi family placed prominently there.

It was taken when Keima was younger, perhaps when he was around 10 years old before they moved to Cafe Grandpa and Keima's dad had to start working overseas or in other districts to help pay the bills.

'He always did have that scowl on his face even when he's so young... I wonder if he got that from his grandfather...'

Mari smiled in nostalgia, but she jumped a little when a strange yet familiar voice called out her name.

'Mari?'

It was a voice that was very familiar but Mari couldn't place it. However, the moment she turned around to see the speaker, her entire cheeks flushed in both shock and surprise.

'Keima-kun?'

It was surely her Keima, but he had grown up! Mari would say that it was yesterday that Keima was still a teenager but it was really the truth in this case. This was a dream, not a vision of the future, right?

'… It has been a while since anyone called me that... at least in that way.'

The man in front of her was definitely Keima. He had grown much taller, and his hair was now tied up in a ponytail behind him. His features were no longer boyish nor were they androgynous, they were now of a man; a very slim and handsome man indeed.

What never changed was the way his eyes seem to be piercing through her when he was looking at her. Yes, this really was her Keima and Mari walked closer to him, her hands reaching out to caress his cheeks. It was a habit she had built up over the years and surprisingly, despite the difference in height and his age, Keima allowed her to do so.

'You've grown up so much, Keima-kun. I couldn't recognize you at all.'

Mari managed to say in the end, her eyes were a little watery at seeing her son grown up to be such a fine man. It was a great relief to see her prayers being answered. Even if it wasn't real. Mari had to keep reminding herself that. This was a DREAM, a very realistic DREAM!

'You hadn't changed a bit, Ka-san... You look exactly the same...'

Keima remarked with a wry grin that Mari didn't know he could show before he invited her to sit at the living room.

'Well, would you be joining me for some tea?'

'If you remember how to make it right.'

Mari replied without hesitation and she chuckled when Keima gave that same wry grin before nodding his head wordlessly.

* * *

'… I am surprised to see you here... and surprised to see how nicely you've weathered the years.'

Keima started the conversation going with a topic that would surely have irked her if she hadn't confirmed for herself what she had suspected. After consulting a mirror, Mari knew that she looked exactly the same as she was... Well, outside this dream at least. This dream was really realistic if this Keima was able to remark about her age so casually.

Wait, Keima was exactly the person who would point that out without any regret in the first place!

'Well, I didn't expect you to grow up so much as well... My son really has grown up to be a handsome young man.'

Mari teased him back as well and she smiled when Keima nodded and said that was true.

'I knew you had your doubts that day... but I turned out well, didn't I, Ka-san?'

Keima raised an eyebrow at Mari when she looked around the home that Keima owned, it was a good sign that he was doing well financially. From all the things that she had seen, how he seemed content and not under stress, Keima was doing very well indeed.

'Yes, you did, Keima-kun. I'm happy for you.'

'Thank you, Ka-san. That means a lot to me.'

This Keima was a lot more vocal and expressive than the Keima that she was used to, but Mari reasoned that it had to happen eventually as well. One doesn't just go out and have a child while retaining and remaining how one was like as a child. Everyone has to grow up eventually, it's different from maturing after all, and Mari knew how mature Keima was in his thinking and his planning.

'If you're happy with your life and who you're spending it with, I see no reason to find fault with you, Keima-kun.'

Mari almost missed it, a momentary drop in his eyes that hinted that she had touched a potential landmine before Keima recovered and nodded his head. Keima had clasped his hands together, akin to a praying position as he smiled a little bitterly at Mari.

'… I see, so you've accepted it... I apologize, I... caused a lot of trouble for you and father then. I was prepared to bear the brunt of it... but her father wasn't willing to let it end that easily. I'm sorry, Ka-san...'

'Then...?'

Mari was surprised to hear Keima say that and she realized that there was something going on that she wasn't aware of. This might be no ordinary dream! Something has definitely happened between Keima and her for him to actually apologize so openly like this.

'Yeah, then... the night I ran away with her... I should have explained it all to you but there wasn't enough time for the two of us to do that...'

'The two of us... you mean, you and your wife, Keima-kun?'

'I know it has been so many years since then, Ka-san... but don't tell me you've forgotten? It's alright to be mad at me... I put you and tou-san through a lot of trouble by my actions.'

Keima raised an eyebrow while wincing, seemingly shocked at how placid or confused Mari was. Mari was missing the big piece of the picture her and her mind racked for a way out of this predicament. This was certainly no normal dream, was this really... a vision of the future? No, it couldn't be...

'Aha... I wouldn't...'

Mari tried desperately to fib as she gave a stern look at Keima.

'But I didn't really have the full picture. Tell me the whole thing from your point of view, Keima-kun. I want to know, all of it.'

Mari crossed her arms in an authoritative way as she stared at Keima, challenging him to call her bluff. To her relief, Keima didn't. Instead, he seemed relieved and resigned to it as he nodded his head.

'… Let me have some tea, it'll be a long story...

* * *

'… So, her father didn't cause too much trouble for you, Ka-san?'

It was a fantastic story, a story that Mari didn't quite believe that Keima and her family had been subjected to; it was straight out of a soap opera and those cheesy drama serials that Mari felt her world spin. Before, Mari had briefly considered Keima's life to be akin to one of those shows and how right she was.

In the 'past', Keima and her girlfriend had eloped and ran away after the girl's parents hadn't approved of them being together. Apparently Keima had caught the eye of an heiress to some grand corporation and as per the norm, they hadn't really approved them being together.

It hadn't degenerated into the family paying Keima or herself to try and separate the two of them like what was commonly done because the two of them had simply cut their losses and ran away from home one night.

The girl's parents were going to force the girl to transfer to another school to separate the two of them but Keima had taken the drastic step to just run away from home then and there.

Mari wasn't sure why Keima had decided to do that, but she blamed it all on his husband. Keima's father had been just as reckless when he had proposed to her after all and she knew Keima took after his father as well. Keima was a very stubborn person with a determination like steel. When he decided on something, he would act on it without hesitation till it was successful.

So Mari could forgive Keima for doing what he did, even if he did not marry the girl till a few years later.

But that was not the most important part of the story so far. Normally, an elopement wouldn't have succeeded, but in this case, Keima and his girlfriend had actually left the country and headed overseas to hide from her family. They had succeeded in hiding themselves for a couple of years till they were found by the girl's parents.

During those few short years, Keima had been living in worry that they would bring down their wrath on Mari and the Katsuragi household. Even if he himself was willing to take the risk, he didn't have the time to explain everything to them.

Sadly, Mari didn't know whether they did or did not. It was another Mari, that had gone through this... She couldn't believe that she just had that thought in her head. This... was just getting ridiculous! If not for how she had seen similar concepts on TV, she wouldn't be able to take it as easily as she did. That and, this HAD TO BE A DREAM NOW!

'Even if they did...'

Mari paused when Keima had a pained expression on his face, but his features softened when Mari caressed his cheeks again briefly as she told him that she'll always be behind him.

'Because you are our son, Keima-kun. If it was a decision that you made after considering all the possible options, I'll support you. My Keima-kun has never done something wrong or something that he wasn't willing to do. We're family, Keima-kun. We'll support you no matter what others say.'

'… It must be hard on you, Ka-san... I'm sorry.'

Keima's voice broke a little as he inhaled deeply before shaking his head.

'I couldn't contact the two of you, it would be too risky... even when they found me, I couldn't come back because I had to prove that I am worthy of her.'

Keima smiled bitterly but then his smile become happier when Mari said that he's doing well now, isn't he?

'Yeah, I'm the owner of a game localization firm... the market for the _ideal_ has never been better. They gave us our blessing in the end... but I think you knew that...'

Keima paused after saying that, which caused Mari to narrow her eyes again. There was something else for him to stop suddenly again and she felt concern when Keima's hand shivered.

'…'

'Keima-kun?'

'… I'm sorry... It's just... I never did come back for Elsi, didn't I?'

* * *

'Elsi?'

'… She left, didn't she? I knew she left around the same time I got married...'

Keima didn't look up this time, his shoulders were shivering a little, but Mari was doing the same as well. Keima was shaken up badly about this particular incident and since it concerned Elsi as well, Mari was afraid too.

It was difficult for her to imagine what she and the Katsuragi family would have gone through if a rich conglomerate was out to ruin their lives. Hardship was nothing new to Mari, but to face a force like that, a stain on their name, was something that one could hardly easily recover from. That Mari was so mad at Keima's father for having an illegitimate like Elsi. Wait, did they use Elsi as an excuse?!

'What... happened to Elsi?'

Mari managed to croak out in the end.

'Ka-san... are you, okay?'

Keima's reply was forced, his hands were shaking as he looked up at Mari. Mari could see that his eyes were red, Keima never cries and this made Mari react as well. Her hands reached up to touch his shoulders just like what he was trying to do and he flinched away from the touch.

'You, know who Elsi was, don't you?'

'Y-Yes, I know... calm down, Keima-kun... tell me, what happened to Elsi?'

There was a long bout of silence between the two of them again, this time it was unbearable till Keima started the conversation again.

'Ka-san, tell me... what was the last time you saw Elsi? What happened to Elsi?'

'Eh... Well...'

Mari was stuck between a rock and a hard place again, this time she had no idea what Keima expected her to answer. Well, she knew there was one thing that was being implied. It was that one thing, that she was afraid to admit. Mari knew Keima very well, that body posture that Keima had held was one that showed of pain, of regret...It was like the time when Keima's first gaming console was broken in an accident; a silly thing no doubt, but one that made Keima bawl for three days straight.

It was that same posture that he had taken just now, the topic was a great landmine and Mari knew it. So she used the first thing that came to mind.

'I thought Elsi was with you? She said that she was following her 'Kami-Onii-sama'.'

When Mari said that, Keima relaxed and his shoulders relaxed even as he gave a small nostalgic smile as well.

'So, she said that... did she?'

The silence that followed that wasn't as stifling as before and Mari relaxed a little as Keima drank some of his tea again.

..

'I'm sorry Ka-san... but Elsi, she left.'

'Left?'

'… Yes, she left. She... left...'

'What do you mean, left, Keima-kun? What happened to Elsi?'

Mari raised her voice a little, hoping to intimidate him a little, but she was faced with a brick wall that was Katsuragi Keima. This was the Keima she knew, the stubborn boy was still inside him as he repeated his statement, only this time in a much softer tone.

'She, left, Ka-san... She, fulfilled her promise.'

'Her promise? Where did she go, Keima-kun? Why didn't she tell us? Why didn't she tell you?!'

'Her promise to me... from the start, she joined our family because of me... She always did call me, Kami-sama, didn't she?'

Keima chuckled a little but Mari was not in the mood for laughing now, nor for nostalgia. What happened to her child? What happened to Elsi in this, this stupid dream?!

'You said she was family, Keima-kun! Why are you saying this? Why did you let her go? Where is she? Where did she go? Tell me, Keima-kun?'

Mari didn't care that this was a dream or whatever, she was focused on one thing. The fact that Keima seemed awfully relaxed to talk about her lost sister like that.

'She left, Ka-san... like me, she decided she had to go.'

'Elsi... did?'

The soft tone that Keima adopted to tell her that made all the anger in Mari dissipate as quickly as it had appeared. Keima, he was suffering too and Mari bit her lip in frustration.

'She was family, she was my sister... but, I couldn't hold her back. It was the one thing that she asked of me.'

Keima told Mari in the same tone and Mari knew that he was holding his emotions in as best as he could. But he was failing. failing horribly because Mari could tell that Keima was hurt, he had always been hurting. Perhaps even more than she would if the Elsi she knew, her daughter had left like that.

'Ka-san?'

Keima started when Mari pulled Keima to shoulder, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and told him that it's alright.

'… Ka-san...'

Keima never cried, but that doesn't mean he was a robot. He had emotions and he must have obviously cherished his sister no matter how he never quite showed it to her. If only Elsi saw this, but then again, she had always seemed willing and happy to be with Keima no matter what he did to her. Perhaps it was like what they say, one would only cherish something when it was lost.

'… Tell me, Keima-kun...'

'Yes?'

After a while, when Keima stopped shivering, Mari asked him whether Elsi made that choice by herself.

'Did she really had to leave, Keima-kun?'

'No, she didn't... she could stay, but she still choose to leave.'

Even little Elsi had grown up! That was good news for her and despite herself, despite the loneliness that she was feeling now. Mari was very happy that her two children had grown up and made their choices on what they wanted to do in their lives.

It might be hard for the two of them, no, Mari knew that it was hard... but it was part and parcel of being a parent. Would she be able to see Keima and Elsi make those decisions when she wake up then? If she did, Mari promised herself that she'll support them as much as she could. She was a mother after all, and which mother wouldn't do that for their children.

'… Then, I'm... fine.'

'Ka-san... are you sure? Elsi, she... still lied to you.'

Keima choose his words carefully, no doubt trying not to get Mari mad, but Mari wasn't mad, she was actually very happy that Elsi had the courage to make that decision. But at the same time, she's sad that Elsi didn't choose to confide in her, as she did for Keima.

'Elsi has to grow up eventually... So why not then? And... Elsi told you why she made that decision, right, Keima-kun?'

Mari looked at Keima's eyes when she asked that, and she was happy and proud that Keima did not flinch away from her gaze. If he did, then she would be a little worried that he was either guilty or was not proud of Elsi's decision.

But Keima didn't, and that was enough for Mari.

'You supported her, didn't you, Keima? Even... if you know that you don't like it, you still supported Elsi's decision. We... are family, Keima-kun, you said it yourself.'

'I... I did, didn't I?'

Keima sighed again, this time it was more of resignation as he looked back at her mother. Even after so many years, her values were still the same. It was, very comforting really to know that despite all that might be wrong in the world, there was still a family he could return to.

'So there's no reason I would be mad at you or Elsi... if the two of you can make that decision, you two surely have labored under that decision till now... Why would I ever find fault with the two of you more than you already did? You two... suffered more than we did, hiding something like this... isn't easy, I should know.'

Keima paused before Mari told him about how their marriage was the same too.

'They never approved of my marriage to your dad... so I guess it does run in the family.'

Mari chuckled and after a while, Keima chuckled too together with her.

..

'Thank you, Ka-san... for supporting me and Elsi. If she could hear that from you, I know she'll be happier.'

After a while of comfortable silence, Keima suddenly stood up and said that he should check on his wife.

'You wanted to meet her, didn't you, Ka-san? My wife... I remember when Elsi told me that you were worried that I'll be married to a _heroine_.'

Keima had a wry smile on his face as he walked towards a flight of stairs that led to the second floor.

'She's up there changing right now, she's very nervous about meeting you again.'

'Oh... I did see her before... who is it?'

'… I thought you should know by now, Ka-san...'

Mari blinked before remembering that yes, she _should _know. But because she didn't, she only gave Keima a wink while reminding him about how he was always popular in high school.

'Who knew who was the _one_ for you, Keima-kun.

'… I didn't know till I met her as well, Ka-san... I guess, it really runs in the family.'

Keima chuckled again before calling up the flight of stairs for Shuko.

'Shuko-chan, is your mother ready?'

Mari waited with baited breath and she stretched her neck when she heard the sounds of other footsteps coming down the stairs a while later.

'It's really Mari-san, isn't it? Is my hair done up well?'

'No it isn't.'

'Hmph, you and your emphasis on the angle of a ponytail... You never change, Keima-kun.'

'You knew that I was like that when you married me.'

'Yes, I know... I know... but I would have expected you to not get involved with my hair at least. Shuko-chan, get your father to stop messing my hair!'

'Tou-san stop it! Grandmother came all the way here to meet mother and father!'

Even as Mari smiled to herself at the energy of her child and his wife, she felt something tug at her from within her.

'Eh?'

The entire world started spinning all of a sudden despite her finally seeing her son's wife appear at the top of the flight of stairs. Mari only had time to curse her misfortune while at the same time feeling a little relieved. It was, getting a little too realistic for her to believe it was a dream after all.

'… Be happy, Keima-kun.'

Mari only managed to say that before she lost herself in the darkness again.

* * *

'Oka-sama, you're awake!'

Mari blinked as she found herself on her bed again. She slowly sat up, checking her bearings to see if everything was alright and that she was really back in the 'present'. That was such a weird and realistic dream that she couldn't help but feel a little disoriented when she looked at her daughter, Elsi.

Her lovely, cheerful, and energetic daughter was tending to her, a basin of water and wet towels beside her even as she smiled at Mari.

From the clock in her room, Mari could tell that it was quite late, 11pm and Elsi had school tomorrow too. Was she here the entire time? Come to think of it, had she really needed so much attention just from that fainting spell?

'Ah, Kami-Onii-sama is taking care of Shuko-chan. Tsukuiyo-chan insisted that she sleep early... she was with you earlier...'

'Elsi.'

Mari probably shocked Elsi when she suddenly spoke her name sternly and Elsi flinched when Mari reached out to caress her head softly. A while passed before Mari pressed Elsi to her chest as she continued to stroke her hair gently.

'Elsi-chan.'

'Y-Yes, Oka-sama?'

Elsi's voice was muffled as she laid very still, probably shocked at the way Mari had suddenly pulled her into an embrace. She wasn't TOO uncomfortable though or she would have wriggled a little. Perhaps it was the dream, no, it was indeed the dream that made Mari behave this way. If she had any doubts about Keima's chances in the world, she had most of them put to rest by that dream she just had.

It was realistic, too realistic really... and Mari wanted to have some faith in her son as well. But Elsi, her daughter, was another matter altogether and it made Mari feel a little bad and worried that she had not paid as much attention in her as she ought to.

Even if Mari was sure that Elsi would have no problems with the challenges ahead, she was still her daughter. And she had the right to care for her, to worry for her, only this time, more openly between the two of them.

'… If there's anything, anything at all... that you're worried about...'

'Yes, Oka-sama?'

'Don't hesitated to tell me, or Keima-kun.'

'W-Why... this all of a sudden, Ka-sama?'

Elsi's question was well founded, but Mari simply brushed it away. For some reason, she felt better too, like a weight was removed from her chest as she remembered the dream. If that was what would happen to Keima, she was glad to know that even in the worst-case scenario, her son was strong enough to be happy despite the challenges. Perhaps she was happier believing that was a snapshot of the future after all.

'Because you're family, Elsi... you might know that, I might know that... but... I don't know if I've ever told you that before. You're my daughter, you're a Katsuragi... so, don't ever hesitate, Elsi... remember, you're my daughter. My flesh and blood... so, you can always count on your mother if you're worried or upset about anything.'

Perhaps it's a reminder not only to Elsi, but to her as well as she felt Elsi's warmth as her daughter hugged her tighter.

She paused when she felt moisture dot on her shirt and she knew that Elsi was crying now, her daughter was emotional, she knew that. But she was sobbing softly to herself now, what she said wasn't something particular touching... but then again, it was probably true that Elsi might have never truly understood how Mari really viewed her. Mari loved her, she really did but did she ever say she was proud to have Elsi as a daughter and not as a girl?

Mari didn't know but to Elsi, just having her say that was the most important step for their relationship.

'Did I ever tell you that, Elsi? If I did, I want to remind you, don't ever forget that...'

Mari knew that it was spoiling the mood but she just had to know, a part of her was reminded that she sounded like Keima now, much to her annoyance. Now that she knew that her son would be all fine, it was time to take care of her daughter as well.

'Thank you, Oka-sama...'

Elsi replied after a while, her eyes red as she sniffed in Mari's arms.

'I know now...'

* * *

'Did you get it?'

Keima asked Elsi the moment Elsi stepped out of Mari's room. The demon rubbed her eyes before saying that she did, producing the Containment Bottle with the Weiss inside. The Weiss, strangely enough was in the shape of a peach, but Keima dismissed it just as easily and focused on the details of the capture.

'Did Shuko-chan disappear too, Kami-Onii-sama?

'Yes she did. Did you modify her memories as well?'

'I did, but... I left the dream that she had... and what came after that... is that okay, Kami-Onii-sama?'

Elsi asked softly, but to Keima, Elsi wasn't asking for permission or for approval, she was simply reporting to Keima that she decided to just do that.

'No, it's fine. I think it's good for her too. Good job, Elsi.'

Seeing that everything was done, Keima started walking towards his room, but he paused when he heard Elsi ask him if it was really alright to leave the dream that Mari had intact.

'Kami-Onii-sama... that is not the future, you're just lying to Oka-sama...'

Elsi didn't look or sound upset, nor did she look confused either. Elsi, just looked resigned, jaded even as though it was a sight too many for her. Keima paused a little at that, it was the first time he ever saw Elsi looking in that fashion and he suppressed a shudder before replying her softly.

'Perhaps... but Elsi, that is a story. A story... always have a protagonist... and that protagonist this time... is you.'

Keima turned back to see Elsi's reaction and he was satisfied to see Elsi not being as shocked as she should be.

'That dream... it wasn't about you, Kami-Onii-sama. It's about me... I know that... but is it... really me that is causing Oka-sama to feel that way? I know it wasn't... I know you still helped Oka-sama... but was it okay... for you to... tell her to worry about me in the end? Kami-Onii-sama, I'm... I'm not worthy for all this … am I?'

'I don't know. But it had to be done. Eventually... so why not now?'

Keima's answer was a surprise to Elsi as he looked back at Elsi meaningfully.

'Would you have done that? What would _Elsi_ have done? Would you lie to Ka-san to protect her? Would you hide things from her to make things easier? Ka-san, she... trusts you, Elsi... but she knows that you're not being totally honest with her. The gap in her heart might have been born due to me, but you were contributing to it as well.'

Keima paused for a moment before saying that regardless of her intentions, regardless of what she wished for.

'The gap in her heart was caused by the both of us, because she worries for us. Relieving that worry with a dream might only be a temporary measure but it could also be a permanent one with the right actions. The question now for you, Elsi... is what would you do to make that gap never appear again?'

'…'

Elsi didn't answer Keima, she couldn't because she knew that whatever answer she gave now would just be a false promise. She was not human, she was a demon and she definitely was not a Katsuragi. She was, Elysia De Lux Irma, a demon of New Hell.

'When that time comes again, Kami-Onii-sama... then I'll know.'

Elsi replied softly, her eyes not meeting Keima, and even if that wasn't the right answer, even if that was just an excuse to drag for more time, Elsi breathed deeper when she felt a hand on her head, rubbing her hair slowly as well.

'Just be yourself, Elsi. That's all that you need to do.'

Keima's words made Elsi blush and even if Elsi knew that Keima might push her away eventually, she just stood very still as Keima said that was enough for her.

'That's all you have done and all you should do. There's no need in chasing someone like me, Elsi. You're not **God, **you're a _devil_.'

'That's not true, Kami-Onii-sama... No, **Kami-sama.**'

It took a while, but Elsi gathered her courage to remind Keima about their unique relationship.

'We're buddies, Kami-Onii-sama! And we're siblings... and we're family. I can't always be just who I am, Oka-sama told me before, a while back... that there comes a time where I would grow up... I can't always be in your shadow, Kami-Onii-sama. I... want to be by your side... So, **Kami-sama...** allow this devil to defy your order. Because, I'm a devil as well as a sister.'

Elsi mumbled to Keima, close to his chest and Elsi knew that Keima heard every word she said.

'… So you're finally into the rebellious state...'

The remark from Keima made Elsi blink before she started giggling helplessly, she heard that saying from one of Mari's shows on TV and even if that was bad to be described to be in that phase, Elsi found it a little too fitting.

'I-It's too bad for you, Kami-Onii-sama... your little sister isn't as little as she used to be.'

'No, you never was... were you?'

Elsi didn't understand what Keima meant this time and she pulled away from Keima to see the **Capturing God**, sighing to himself with a small smile.

'It's nothing...'

* * *

The next day, Mari was up as per the norm, even if she felt very refreshed and happy despite it being the start of the week. The Monday blues were getting to her children though as they were a little later than usual, not even a peep from them from their rooms as Mari finished tidying up the cafe area by herself.

'Good Morning~ Oka-sama~'

Mari was caught by surprise when she saw Elsi handing out portions of breakfast on the dining table and Keima actually setting the table by himself without being told. The shock was so much that Mari had to clean her glasses for a while to ensure that she wasn't seeing anything.

'G-Good morning... Elsi, Keima-kun...'

Mari was ushered to her seat by Elsi even as Mari poured tea for Mari and Elsi and coffee for himself before taking his seat beside Mari. Keima had the same scowl on his face but at least he didn't have his PFP in his hands all the time now. It was however, still present beside his plate, but he had enough table manners this time to not play on it all the time.

'Let's eat, Oka-sama~ Kami-Onii-sama prepared the tea and set the table! I cooked breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen already~'

It was an unfair distribution of workload, but as compared to what Keima had done before, this was a huge improvement and Mari was ready to cry when Keima told her to start eating.

'It'll get cold.'

Keima remarked softly before he too started digging in. Guess Mari had to thank the dream that she had yesterday... it was indeed a premonition of what would or could happen. She was silly being worried about her children, with talented and dedicated children like this... there was no way that anything bad would befell on them.

Even if they did, Mari was now confident to say that the two of them, the two siblings would be able to get themselves out of trouble.

'Mm, let's eat!'

Because they were family, siblings... and perhaps the best partners of them all.

* * *

**Author's Notes: 2 Author's Notes here! Well, since the second one is TL;DR, I'm going to drop 2 requests first:**

**1) I got Animal Crossing: New Leaf! If anyone wants to exchange FC, just drop a PM and let's play together~ At any rate, it IS decreasing my writing time. Whoops. Then again, I feel it's a little saddening that I'm actually going through with this request. But then again, why not? Aha!  
**

**2) Is a confession to make, this particular Side Collection has a lot of loose ends here, simply because the final chapter (this one), is totally inspired out of the blue, and thus it would leave a little loose ends here and there. So if there are queries regarding them, feel free to PM me if you're bothered by them. Some of them will be explained further along, but not here, probably during MWs.**

**..**

**Lastly, my Author's Notes for this particular small side collection!**

* * *

_Author's Comments:_

_This was supposed to be a short drabble and it was quite short, just 5 chapters for us to get this far._

_Sadly, I know that realistically, this chapter would be published a little later on due to elements within it that might give too many hints for Moonflower's Wish._

_Still, that is the curse of writing in alternative timelines and different chronological sequence of events._

_As to when these events should take place, in the chronological timeline, it happens after the events of Moonflower's Wish._

_That is why I left things quite vague for many things as well as making them a little obvious in others._

_In anycase, it is a double edged sword as I do know that it would cause premature spoilers as well as... many speculations and possible ragequits in the future._

_Still, that is for Moonflower's Wish, TWOK: Side Collection shouldn't be drawn into that catfight..._

_.._

_So, how do you think? The dynamics of Elsi + Keima has always been the focus of TWOGK and in this side collection, there is no exception as well._

_What I would like to highlight is that BRP/MW is going to be the furthest I've every pulled TWOGK through the canon timeline. It has already started the foreshadowing and hinting of life without Elsi and the Weiss._

_I know eventually I'll cover that portion, but till then, I hope that all of you would enjoy the changes that are brought to Keima through Elsi. As well as Elsi's own growth._

_Even if this chapter was dedicated around Mari, the humorous portions was quickly replaced with a more serious outlook quickly as well didn't it?_

_I would like to admit that yes, I was thinking of dragging the comedy part a little longer but eventually, it would get old._

_So I cut it shorter than it could have been to get to the serious parts, which is how Elsi and Keima captured the Weiss in Mari's heart._

_If I have to pinpoint the exact cause of the gap in Mari's heart, it would be simply the worry and loneliness that comes from her children. Keima being involved in that harem-like situation and Elsi worshiping her brother and following his actions._

_It's a simple case and it comes with it a simple enough capture with far-reaching consequences._

_Though I do find it very amusing I haven't touched on Keima's father yet, but I probably won't unless Catherine (My Muse) actually tells me about it._

_A simple, short story within TWOGK itself is done here. And I do apologize again if I do make the choice to post this final chapter a little later or after another short. Guess I'm way over my head here._

_Till the next time we meet, in the next side collection!  
_

_-regards_

_wrathie_

_01/06/13_

_2242hrs_


	6. Side 2 - Chapter 1

The World Only The Girls Knows: Side Collection

**Short Two – Chapter 1**

**Note: Characters from the Light Novel will be Included as well.**

..

Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki

Written by: wrathie

**Author's Notes: This particular story is on a similar timeline as BRP/MW.**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Sorry, no beta here. I'm at a very very very, rough patch of my life at this moment.**

**I should be writing more because of that, but due to AC: NF, I can't do that. So.. I'm actually getting more frustrated by the moment.**

**Still, hope you guys will enjoy this chapter, even if it might be a very cliche with a very common story line.**

* * *

..

'Neh, Minami~'

Ikoma Minami, Class 3-C of and substitute swimmer of the Junior division in the Mai-High Swimming team, looked up to her friend Akko while she packed her bags.

Her other best friend, Saito wasn't around as she had ran off earlier to chase after another boy that she had shown interest in. Minami didn't blame her friend for doing that, this was her last year in junior high after all.

They would be attending high school next year and as not everyone might be attending the same school or class, there was a sense of urgency and desperation for those who wanted to enjoy their last part of their middle-school life.

Minami knew it was just an exaggeration, she knew that there were others who should be more frantic, like Kasuga Kusonoki sempai, but who remained patient and was biding her time.

Kasuga-sempai was in the last year of her high school years after all and she was still content in taking her time with the person she liked, instead of just doing her best to attract him.

It was a sentiment that Minami understood, the two of them liked the same person after all, a certain glasses wearing Katsuragi Keima.

It has been a short while after he had helped their mutual friend, Kureha Haruka, and looking back at the sequence of events that had happened, Minami wasn't sure what she really felt about it all.

After all, she had been the person who had withheld information from Katsuragi-sempai in the first place. Just thinking about it made Minami anxious and sad, she didn't really mean to do that.. but if he knew about that, it could affect her chances and so she just...

'Minami? Are you paying attention?'

Akko spoke louder this time and Minami blushed while saying that she wasn't and that she was thinking about things.

'Aha, about Katsuragi-sempai are you? I'm a little envious of that...'

Akko gave Minami an easy smile even as Minami nodded her head hesitantly. It had only been a few days, but after Kanon's surprise announcement regarding her relationship with Keima, everyone's opinion about Katsuragi-sempai has turned upside down again.

The shift in attitude wasn't much, not when he was still known as the Otamegane and the weirdest of all weirdos in Mai High, but Minami didn't care. All she cared about was that her chances of getting his attention were still very much alive.

Her friends attitude towards her affections towards Katsuragi-sempai had changed too, they had used to like teasing her about it, but her own persistence and constant defensive actions for his reputation has gradually made them accept it.

In fact, Minami was pretty sure that some of her friends were a little jealous and resigned at the faith she had in her own love. It was something that Minami couldn't have imagined saying or believing or feeling a year ago, but she could say so easily now.

She owed it to Katsuragi-sempai as well as Kasuga-sempai for all this.

'I guess I was a little distracted... So what's wrong, Akko?'

Minami tried brushing her hair back in reflex even if she knew it wasn't helping as she smiled at her friend encouragingly. Minami wasn't a very particular outspoken or famous individual in school or in class, her only cause for fame was that she was one of the girls that were interested in Katsuragi Keima. Even if it might seem shameful, Minami found herself wearing that title with pride to some extent.

'N-Nothing... no, that isn't right. I have something to ask you... and only you! I don't want Saito to hear it as she'll never stop teasing me about it!'

Akko's face was flushed and Minami leaned back a little as her best friend peered at her like a hawk, her eyes telling her that she wasn't getting of this easily. And she had plans to actually try and meet up with Katsuragi-sempai later too! Oh well...

'O-Okay... shall we talk while we walk home?'

Minami offered with a smile as she finished packing up.

..

Minami knew that the second year High School sempais' were all away on a all-girls exchange program with another school. It sounded incredible to her and she wondered if she would get a chance to go on one as well.

But that's not the most incredible part of it, the most incredible part was that almost all of the sempais that liked Katsuragi sempai were gone! It made Minami feel very bad to know that she felt that way, but there was no helping it at times. Not when it was such a golden opportunity! Kasuga-sempai had told her that she must be prepared to do everything and anything to fight for the love that she wanted.

Minami had heard of it first hand when Kujyo-sempai had asked Katsuragi-sempai out on a date barely two days after the truce between all of them were broken. It had hurt, a little, but with that first step by Kuyjo-sempai, all of them realized that even if they were friends, at least Minami counted her sempai as her friends, there were things that transcended friendship.

Even so, Minami was still invited out by her sempais, especially Kasuga-sempai and Fuse-sempai during the weekends or after school to hang out together. Minami liked her sempais a lot and like her best friends, they were very open with what they were discussing and tried to pull Minami into their lively conversations as well.

Especially Fuse-sempai, who had started teaching them about the culture that she had immersed herself in.

They were all friends and they were love rivals, this was really a very complicated relationship that she found herself in.

'I always wanted to get that single, I'm glad that Shiomiya-sempai was able to find it for me.'

Minami continued speaking with her friend Akko, keeping up the conversation as much as she was able to as Akko had fallen strangely silent. It was a very awkward silence that Minami wasn't sure how she was supposed to break.

'Minami..'

'Mm, yes?'

'You... really enjoy being with your sempais, don't you?'

'Mm! I do, they are really nice to me and they teach me lot of things.'

Minami replied without thinking before realizing that she had been a little untactful. No, she had not considered Akko's feelings at all. Minami then realized that she had started thinking like Aoba-sempai! Their influences on her was showing and Minami blushed red before trying again.

'But Akko and Saito are my best friends. That won't change no matter what.'

Minami gave her best friend a smile even as Akko blinked and then laughed.

'I'm not worried about that, Minami! I'm just, a little... well, I was a little jealous.'

Akko admitted suddenly as she stopped walking for a brief moment, causing her to be behind Minami before she spoke agan.

'You and Saito, you seem to be having so much fun. I don't know how the two of you feel, and I can't imagine it... that's what I thought... but...'

Even as Minami looked around nervously to make sure that the two of them were alone, she felt a little unsure of her emotions right now. Perhaps she had been right before, that her sempais were really influencing her way too much.

..

'I... think I fell in love with someone too.'

Akko's words made Minami's jaw drop as she stared at her friend for a few seconds before recovering herself.

'T-That's great! I'm happy for you, Akko! Who is he? Is he someone in our class?'

Minami tried to calm herself down as she listened to Akko's words as her heart was beating tremendously. She might be over-thinking things here, but she had listened to Fuse-sempai talk about different scenarios when they were out for dinner together.

If Akko fell in love with Katsuragi sempai as well, she would have no choice but to... but to... what?!

'Y-Yeah... he's in our class...'

Minami let loose the breath she had been holding before giving her a happy smile and a hug.

'That's great! Really great! So, are you going to confess to him?'

'Yes... I want to...'

Minami was very happy for her friend, too happy actually and her hug intensified till Akko told her that it hurts.

'S-Sorry, sorry! But I'm really happy for you!'

'Y-Yeah... so, could you help me?'

'Help... you?'

'Mm... I want to know, how you confessed to Katsuragi-sempai, Minami.'

* * *

..

Ikoma Minami smiled nervously at her friend, Kureha Haruka even as she sipped on her iced coffee casually. Kureha Haruka, another one of her good friends that was in the same class.

Unlike herself however, Haruka was a very popular and energetic girl that had a lot of fans in junior as well as high school. That aside, Haruka was also one of the friends she relied on as she had helped her a lot when she was facing troubles in the swimming team.

'Sorry for calling you out all of a sudden, Haruka.'

'Mm mm~ It's okay~ I'm always happy to hang out, Minami.'

Haruka smiled at her friend even as she made her order. The two of them were at Cafe Grandpa, a Cafe that was run by Katsuragi sempai's mother and a place that she frequented once in a while.

Minami hadn't known that Kujyo sempai was a regular here until she saw her once before, having some cake while speaking to Mari-san before she recognized her.

Kujyo-sempai had seemed a little taken aback at the start but she had recovered and introduced Minami as her friend, even if Minami felt that she was a little unwilling at some parts.

Mari already did know who Minami was, what with her and Kusonoki having dinner together with the Katsuragi Household after that parent-teacher conference. But to know that so many of Keima's suitors knew each other was still quite a shock.

..

'It's nice to see you here again, Minami-chan? Keima-kun hasn't came back yet though... and who's this? A friend of yours? Or another suitor?'

Mari teased Minami good-heartedly, which meant that she had came to terms with it even as Haruka blinked in surprise.

'Keima-kun?'

As Haruka tried to read the on-goings between the two of them, Minami blushed and shook her head shyly at Mari.

'Hello again, Mari-san... I'm not here to look for Katsuragi-sempai... I came here with my friend. Mari-san, this is Haruka, she's my friend from my class. Haruka, this is Mari-san, she's the owner of the Cafe.'

Minami wasn't sure what Haruka felt about Katsuragi-sempai, even if Haruka was one of the individuals that were helped by sempai, she was also one of the few that didn't remember or know what was going on.

'Ah, welcome to Cafe Grandpa, Haruka-chan~ I'm Katsuragi Mari.'

Mari smiled at Haruka even as the gears slowly turned in Haruka's head before she nodded in understanding.

'It's a pleasure, Mari-san. I'm a friend of Minami and Kasuga-sempai, I'm Kureha Haruka, it is a pleasure to meet you.'

Haruka smiled even as Mari tried to remember who exactly was Kasuga when it clicked.

'Ah, you mean Kusonoki-chan? Aha, the world is really small then... it's nice to meet you, Haruka-chan. Would you like some tea?'

* * *

..

The three of them chatted idly for a while, talking about school and their middle-school lives before Mari had to leave to serve the other customers. But they did clear up the fact that Haruka wasn't one of the suitors for Keima. For that, Minami was thankful.

'So, what's this about, Minami? Are you finally going to get serious about chasing after Katsuragi-sempai? Just to let you know, I'm supporting Kasuga-sempai in this.'

Haruka gave Minami a challenging grin even as Minami smiled back at her. Minami always did knew that Haruka was a competitive person and that much was proven based on the accounts that she had been able to persuade Kasuga-sempai to tell her about what finally happened at the end of the Kureha Haruka fiasco.

'Mou... Haruka, can't you help me too? I'm your friend too...'

Minami pouted cutely even as Haruka looked uncomfortable before crossing her arms stubbornly and shaking her head.

'Sorry, Minami. When it comes to you and Kasuga-sempai, I'll choose sempai.'

'As glad as I am to hear that, I find it a little unsettling to hear that as well, Haruka.'

Haruka jumped, literally as she whirled back to see Kasuga Kusonoki smiling sternly at her from behind her. Minami on the other hand, hid her smile behind her drink as Haruka quickly got up to allow her to have a seat.

'S-Sempai! I-I didn't know you were coming!'

Haruka was obviously flustered and shaken by Kusonoki's appearance and she only calmed down when Kusonoki smiled and told her that she didn't mind.

'As much as I appreciate the gesture, Haruka, I would not want you to assist me at all. This is a fair competition and Minami and I had already agreed to it. Minami, you aren't thinking of cheating, are you?'

Kusonoki gave Minami a smile that Minami returned while sticking her tongue out sheepishly as wel.

'I won't, sempai, I was just kidding with Haruka. I wouldn't want her to help anyway.'

Minami crossed her arms proudly as well to emphasis the point and the sheer incredulous scene was enough to cause Haruka to gawk before chuckling and giggling to herself.

'A-Alright, Alright! You two win... I-I can't keep up with the two of you at all!'

Haruka only calmed down after a while and she did quieten down when Mari made her rounds to take Kusonoki's orders as well.

..

'Ah, Kusonoki-chan, you came to visit. I should have known earlier. Have fun you two!'

'O-Ohka-Mari-san, it is nice to see you again as well. Yes I am... is... everything well?'

Kusonoki couldn't help but blush in front of Mari at her misstep, which was probably due to nervousness. Mari on the other hand, took delight in teasing Kusonoki a little as she commented on how it has been hard on her lately and that she would love to have some help.

'Elsi is getting a lot of training to be a wife lately. She has been helping me a lot in the kitchen as well as in the shop. The way to a person's heart is through their stomach. That's how I got hold of Keima-kun's father anyway.'

Mari knew that was a white lie, but she was giggling mischievously at Kusonoki swallowing nervously. However she did know her limits and she quickly said that it might not work for Keima as well as it did for his father.

'Well, I'm rooting for you, Kusonoki-chan. Gambare neh!'

As Mari made her leave, leaving Kusonoki to calm herself down while Minami tried to look uninterested at the sequence of events, it was Haruka who broke the silence instead.

'So... why did you ask us out, Minami?'

* * *

..

'Ah... so Akko asked you for help huh, I did feel something is different about her. I just knew it... ... Well, how _did_ you confess to Katsuragi-sempai? Maybe you could give some advise based on that?'

Haruka's nonchalant words made Minami and Kusonoki froze in their seats. Haruka didn't seem to even flinch though but she noticed their frozen forms before leering at the two of them.

'Actually, I would like to know how did sempai confess to Katsuragi-sempai too... I know that sempai and Minami-chan did confess to Katsuragi-sempai, but I don't know how. Spill the beans!'

Haruka smiled mischievously even as Minami looked away while trying to be very busy with her drink. Kusonoki on the other hand had turned bright red, steam literally coming from her ears before she cleared her throat and said that was confidential.

'I believe the both of you have read that article that was published in the school newspaper. The time that I professed that I had feelings for Katsuragi was during a time of great crisis for me. As much as I would like to share that experience with you, it concerns information that is confidential and sensitive... I'm sorry, Haruka, Minami.'

Kusonoki was able to deliver that with a straight face, controlling her emotions as best as she could even as her two friends looked at her. Their expressions were of shock before they turned to understanding. Kusonoki knew that the school newspaper did indeed exaggerate and blow up what she had told them with regards to Katsuragi, but if there was smoke, there was fire.

Since Keima himself was happy to have his intentions as well as actions masked and confusing with his previous reputation, the new testimonials as well as his current actions, Kusonoki saw no harm having those exaggerated rumors be added to the mix.

In fact, she was quite happy that a lot of heat had been taken off her back after that interview she had held. Contrary to what others might expect of her, after the article was published, a lot of her own classmates had started asking her about Katsuragi, again.

Still, they had good intentions and after Kusonoki reassured them that she knew what she was doing and that Katsuragi really did something for her, they had relented in the end.

'Ah it's okay... sempai, if it is really that important...'

Minami answered softly even as Haruka bit her lip, the younger girl was probably making her own assumptions about her words. Kusonoki braced herself for one of her zany ideas even as Haruka opened her mouth.

'Well, if sempai thinks that way, I can't force sempai to tell me more... but Katsuragi-sempai really is amazing to have so many rumors... he was Kanon-chan's friend from a long time back! I didn't even know that... what about Minami then?'

Upon hearing that, Minami's mind raced to when she had kissed Keima during the summer festival and she turned bright red. However, she too knew that if she too much emotion, they would never stop teasing her. It was something that Shiomiya and Yoshino-sempai had shared with her when they were chatting with each other.

So Minami tried her best to keep her emotions in check even as Haruka and even Kusonoki looked at her expectantly.

'I confessed to Katsuragi-sempai during the summer festival... when we out on a date together.'

Minami kept it as simple as she could despite Haruka waiting eagerly for more details. After a few seconds passed without Minami saying anything, she was obviously disappointed as she tilted her head and asked if that was it.

'That's it? That's it? Surely you must have done something more romantic! I need more details, Minami! Did he take advantage of you? Did the two of you kiss?'

Despite themselves, Kusonoki and Minami both turned red at the last comment, thankfully Haruka didn't realize as she continued to rant about the lack of love life from her two friends.

'Anyway! If Akko needs help to confess to the boy, you've asked for help from the right person!'

Haruka slammed a hand on the table even as her two friends started at her sudden declaration.

'Like Mari-san, the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach! So why not get Akko to prepare some food for her confession?'

Haruka's statement made sense but she obviously did not expect someone else to echo that sentiment as Katsuragi Mari clapped her hand in agreement as well.

'That's right! How about you learn from the best in Cafe Grandpa, Minami-chan, Kusonoki-chan? You too, Haruka-chan!'

The three girls were stunned at Mari's abrupt interruption into their conversation, had she been listening in all the time after all? If she had, that meant that Kusonoki and Minami's confession had been heard by Mari as well.

The two of them realized that as well, and they were unable to meet Mari's knowing smile as she looked at the two of them happily.

The Cafe was not devoid of people, but most of the regulars had already left. Those that were still around were either enjoying the show or ignoring the noisy group of high school students.

Those who patronize the shop had started to just tune out or had gotten used to the daily theatrics within Cafe Grandpa itself.

'Well, what do you think, Minami-chan, Kusonoki-chan? You'll help too, right, Haruka-chan?'

* * *

**Author's Notes: I said my piece up there! But do R&R if you liked it.**


	7. Side 2 - Chapter 2 (Final)

The World Only The Girls Knows: Side Collection

**Short Two – Chapter 2**

**Note: Characters from the Light Novel will be Included as well.**

..

Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki

Written by: wrathie

**Author's Notes: This particular story is on a similar timeline as BRP/MW.**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Sorry, I didn't get the time to bug a beta for this one! So bear with the errors!**

**Totally embarrassing how it turned out that I uploaded the wrong one up.**

**Thank you, _Kaze_ whoever you are for the headsup! Guess I was too tired..**

* * *

..

'So... lets start.'

Katsuragi Man smiled cheerfully even as she looked at the young girls who were gathered in the kitchen together with her.

She was tickled pink to know more about the younger girls that were Keima's friend. Ikoma Minami-chan was a very adorable girl as well, so was her friends Kureha Haruka and Akko. Bonus points for having their senior, and Keima's senior as well, Kasuga Kusunoki tagging along as well.

They had explained the situation to her a few hours ago and she was more than willing to help a girl in need, especially when they were very good customers for Cafe Grandpa.

It didn't help that it had been quite a slow day and the amusement that would be garnered from helping those girls in love would be more amusing than ever.

At least Marl was being honest about her intentions, Haruka however seemed to be plotting something of her own even as she beamed while looking at her friends. But it was Haruka after all, and her friends knew that she was always plotting something for her own amusement, she was the notorious trickster sans manipulator of her whole level after all!

Only Kusunoki knew another side of her, that of a girl that was absolutely crazy in her love towards the boy that she, and they liked, that side of her was intimidating like hell actually and Kusunoki wouldn't want to face it, ever again. Still, she was one of the few individuals who had her own reservations and hidden agendas about this particular cooking and sharing session.

Unlike the girls, who were all here to learn about how to cook some treats, or to actually win some points with Mari, Kusunoki wanted to know more about how Man viewed Keima and his 'relationship' with the other girls. No doubt Man knew about how many girls had their eyes on Keima.

If she was in Mari's shoes, at least, if Kusunoki thought that if she was in her shoes, she'll be very worried about how her son was threading on many boats, or two-timing, or was it quadruple-timing? Anyway, it was one thing to be popular, it was another thing to be too popular!

..

At least Keima wasn't behaving like a playboy, that was the only thing that made Kusunoki feel proud about Keima. He was not playing with their feelings, he was just... well, not ready to accept any one of them.

But then again, Keima had accepted her, Miyabi Eru, and that itself made her feel a little complex as well. For if it had been one of the girls that she had grudgingly accepted to be part of an alliance of sorts, Kusunoki wouldn't be that upset by the matter.

For after spending so much time with all of them, talking to them, learning about their individual feelings and love for Keima, she... couldn't deny them their rights to have the urge to want to own him, to own Keima.

So if it's one of those girls that she recognized as individuals who love him as much as she did, perhaps it'll be okay for her to give up like that. Okay, so she was lying as it will still hurt, it definitely would, but at least it wouldn't hurt as much when compared to her losing to a random stranger like Miyabi Eru, who had waltzed in out of no where to capture Keima's heart without any one of them even knowing what was going on.

Kusunoki was bitter, she was willing to admit that at least as she was truthful enough to admit that, and besides it made her feel much better as compared to being in denial all the time, like how she was sure that some of her fellows had felt at some point.

Of course none of the 'captured' girls really liked the idea of just backing off, but since it was better than the alternative of trying to break the two of them apart forcibly, they had decided to just bear it out to see what would happen in the end.

Even if Kusunoki did feel ripped off when she was asked not only to bless Miyabi Eru, who was in her own class and was even a _classmate_, but to even expect her to help give them another chance to meet up again after they had obviously split up?

Now that made Kusunoki _really_ upset. But she had went with the majority again, even if she hadn't been really convinced by Aoba's own speech as to why they should give him a chance to let him be more aware of their own needs and feelings as well.

Not to mention being able to make Keima 'owe' them another favor in kind. She really wasn't looking forward to what Aoba might want to squeeze out of Keima with this under her belt.

Kusunoki didn't like that, she didn't like to have favors owed to her, nor did she like to owe others favors as well, it's just in her nature, even if some of the girls reflected that it was probably due to her own stubborn pride as well. Kusunoki didn't mind that, after all it was true that her pride has made it very difficult to do things for Katsuragi.

Overall, she didn't approve of how the girls as well as Keima had handled that last fiasco, but she couldn't deny what they had done for they had the best of intentions as well. Surely that wasn't the best reason, and was cold comfort seeing how badly it had affected everyone, but she didn't have anything else to explain the situation with.

Such a dilemma, but at least now she would be given the chance to make up for it, even if it's just a little, to Keima.

..

Especially since how she always screwed up in front of Mari-san, that was very embarrassing as well. At least she wouldn't do that today, hopefully.

'We will be in your care then, Katsuragi-san...'

Minami's friend, Akko, looked quite nervous even as she shot a few nervous glances all around the girls that had, to Kusunoki anyway, had dragged her forcibly to take part. No doubt Akko would have heard of her and her reputation, that was the price of fame after all, Kusunoki just hoped that she heard of the better rumors that had gone around over the years.

'Marl-san is famous around her for her cakes. She's got the magic touch after all.'

Haruka waggled her eyebrows in anticipation even as Minami giggled at the sight. Girls would be girls after all, and Kusunoki tugged at her apron slightly before nodding in agreement as well. Even if she was brought up in a traditional Japanese family that favored food being prepared traditionally, every one had a sweet tooth!

'Ainight then, we'll be doing something simple today, so let's start with brownies. The way to a boy's heart is through his stomach after all! So let's go through the ingredients today...'

Even as Mari started supervising the girls in their preparations for the tasty treat, she took time to speak with all of the girls individually as well, trying to know them better even as she gave them tips on how to prepare the brownie in the best way possible.

'Well, as they all say, something made by themselves would always have more of an impact on the other party that you are giving it to. But most importantly, you have to pick something that they would like! If they don't like it, no matter how much effort you put at it, it's just the thought that counts, and sometimes it just isn't enough to express what you really feel... So you have to ask yourself is this really what you want the person to receive? Would he like it? Those kind of questions are important!'

Marl recounted, sounding remarkably like Keima in a way even as the girls nodded in understanding and agreement.

'Some boys even find it pressuring for girls to give them stuff they made by themselves. I can't blame them though, its rare to have a boy who can actually prepare the right gifts for girls and remain unattached.'

Marl gave her own sigh even as Haruka objected, raising a hand up in the air like an over enthusiastic student even as Marl smiled and nodded to her, letting her speak.

'The best gift that a boy can give to a girl, is his loyalty! But not many boys can do that... so, Marl-san is right.'

Mari froze at Haruka's answer before she started laughing, and then froze again before starting to mumble to herself quietly. The girls had no idea what had brought about the changes in expression for Mari, but they decided to ignore that in favor of teasing Haruka instead for her brave and insightful words.

'That's surprisingly mature of you, Haruka-chan.'

Akko gave her a big smile even as Haruka nodded proudly as well, if she had a tail she would be wagging it as Kusunoki was even petting her on the head and praising her as well.

'Haruka... that sounds like something that Katsuragi-sempal would say.'

Minami commented even as Kusunoki paused and nodded in agreement, Minami had hit the nail on the head this time.

'Loyalty and never ending affection to a girl... that's, quite romantic even!'

Akko agreed even as Haruka nodded even more happily, beaming at Kusunoki, who was blushing as she looked to the side, no doubt in agreement to Haruka's words.

'Mm! It seems like Haruka-chan is an expert when it came to love"'

..

Mari teased even as Haruka blushed herself, the notorious trickster being unable to refute that even as Mari giggled mischievously at her. Even if she was the best manipulator in her age group, and she certainly lived up to her reputation, she was no match for Man, who had more first-hand experienced ontop of her own semi-successful marriage.

Even if she only had one successful courtship, and had gone out with only one individual, Keima's dad, she was less easily embarrassed and being in a biker gang had exposed her to... even more 'exotic' matters when It came to the topic of love.

'Looks like high school girls of this age are at least more responsible then we were at our time. I mean, we would only be obsessed about what we would do after we go out and not even bother about what or who we go out with... hmm... maybe it's the change of times now! But back then we talked about '' and *****! Oh, right! Our favorite discussion would be on whether the boys ***** were enough! Some of the were really ***** and others... ah... they were good. Really good! We could go on all night sometimes!'

Marl continued on describing about things that were probably best not to be discussed in the fic proper even as everyone of them turned bright red. Haruka with smoke coming out of her ears but the other three in a mixture of interest and embarrassment even as they listened closely.

Perhaps girls this age wasn't as innocent as she thought, or only Haruka was surprisingly innocent in those topics. It was indeed quite a dilemma to ponder on as Mari continued on, paying no heed, or having too much fun to actually stop.

* * *

..

'Now jokes aside~ I think all of them would know what I'm talking about, yes? The age of the internet and all~'

Mari dismissed all of what she had discussed with a straight face, causing Haruka to have no choice but to blab about how unfair she was being even as Mari smiled teasingly at her for making a scene.

Mari wasn't good with technology, but that didn't mean she didn't try her best to try and understand Keima when he was much younger. As a result, Mari was actually quite technological savvy for her age, and even if she wasn't a frequent user in chan or in any of the boards that the youth frequent, she did follow up on gaming news once in a while.

Especially after she started doing her research by stealing one of Keima's game when he wasn't looking and trying them out for herself. It had... been quite disturbing when she found out what her son was playing, but as a _mother_, she couldn't just condemn her son's interest, especially since he liked it so much.

So she had came to terms with it, even if Keima had never really found out how much Mari actually knew about his hobby or the terms that he would recite to Elsi once in a while.

But Mari understood some of what was discussed and it was only because Mari didn't want to get involved did she just let those comments pass, and that played a huge role in letting Mari actually see the funny side of Keima's current predicament, having a real-life harem just like how he would casually do in the games the the play. It was like he was being trained his whole life to deal specifically with this situation! Not that Mari _should_ laugh about it, Keima was playing with a ticking time bomb here that only he could defuse by himself after all.

'Unfair? What am I being unfair in? I think all of you _should_ know something and would be interested at your age, don't tell me you girls aren't?'

Mari's eyes twinkled even as Haruka lost the argument even as she gripped her hands tightly in frustration. With all of her allies ignoring her, Kusunoki actually finding it difficult to even meet Mari's eyes again, Haruka gave a noise of frustration before sighing and giving up. She was not an innocent middle-school girl, absolutely no one was one in the current age of information technology unless one was extremely sheltered, and even that was unlikely due to the proliferation of smart-phones and the internet.

Seeing how even Minami looked less shocked and more embarrassed, Haruka had to surrender and admit that perhaps she _was_ a little more naïve in the subject than she would want to admit to her friends. Minami, Ikoma Minami, the girl who never even seemed to have a very strong interest in members of the opposite sex before falling deeply, madly in love with Katsuragi Keima, knew what Mari had been talking about in great detail.

Also, if Haruka thought that it was doubly disturbing how Mari knew that it was her own _son_ who the girls were fantasizing about, she decided to keep her mouth shut. For it was the only good thing that had came out of that particular discussion.

'Let's get started then! C'mon, before the ingredients get stale!'

Mari started her lesson anew even as everyone started following Mari's example.

* * *

..

As all of them started putting their finished batches into the oven to bake over time, Akko started drifting over to Minami, who asked her if this really was the right thing to do.

'I mean... to confess all of a sudden... shouldn't there be a process for this? I mean... what did you do, Minami? How did it happen on your side?'

Akko asked nervously even as Minami started playing with her hair again. Minami really didn't want to talk about this, especially with Haruka and Mari in ear shot, but she supposed she didn't have a choice in the matter. Seeing how she had pulled Akko to come over to learn in the first place, and so Minami recounted her experiences with Keima to Akko.

'Well, I... I first saw Katsuragi-sempai at the swimming pool... I guess it all happened there.'

'Ohh... at the swimming pool... during club?'

Akko asked curiously even as Minami shook her head.

'It was after club, I went back to take things when I saw him swimming very fast in the water... He was very captivating. He looked very handsome then too!'

Minami exclaimed happily, remembering the moment even as Akko mentioned that she didn't tell them that.

'Well, I wouldn't... the two of you were teasing me for quite a while.'

Minami scowled and pouted even as Akko scratched her head in confusion.

'R-Really? I don't quite remember that... myself... I wouldn't... I mean, I don't know... Eh...'

Akko continued to look confused even as Minami continued without paying much attention to Akko's babbling. Sometimes her two friends were jerks, and she remembered being teased mercilessly by the two of them during that period. Akko was being kinda mean to Minami anyway, claiming that she couldn't remember when she apparently had so much fun in her expense.

So sue her for being a little bit petty with her payback!

'But I did spend quite some time trying to know more about Katsuragi-sempai. I think sempai caught on to what I was doing the whole time though.'

Minami looked thoughtful even as Akko nodded her head to try and persuade Minami to continue. Since she had already started, Minami knew that stopping now would only make it harder for her to start again the next time. So she might as well go the distance!

'Because sempai was the one who asked me out the first time~ Then... I confessed to him, or he confessed to me... I don't remember much of that actually! I was just too nervous! I think it was me though.'

That was the truth, their first date was also the time for her first confession, and even if it took a very long time before they went out again together, Minami felt that their first date was all the more special due to it.

'Katsuragi-sempai knew about me before... does the person Akko want to confess to, know you?'

By throwing Akko a question, Minami was let off the hook even as Akko frowned before saying that it was obvious as they were classmates!

'Well, I can't tell Akko like anyone at all...'

Minami countered but she jumped when Haruka interrupted by saying that _she_ could tell and totally ignoring how she had admitted to have been eavesdropping on the two of them only moments ago. But this was Haruka after all, it was par the norm for her and even Minami gave a chagrin look as Haruka berated Minami for not being sensitive.

'I might not know exactly who that person is, but I knew Akko was in love! It is shown all over you, the way you dressed better and less sloppier, the light makeup that you apply now as well as how you wear your skirt just a little higher than before! It's spring, spring time for Akko-chan!'

Even as Haruka went on in a tangent, and embarrassing Akko even more, Minami turned to see Mari and Kusunoki smiling at themselves before covering their mouths almost simultaneously together. Seeing that made Minami feel a little complicated even as she asked the two of them whether they had been listening in as well. Not that she mind, what was really important was how the two of the had kissed after all!

'I did... I was always a little curious as to how the two of you met... I wish I could say more about how I met with Katsuragi... but as it would actually have ties with my dojo... I can't say much about it,'

Kusunoki admitted unhappily even as she apologized to Minami, making Minami smile at how sincere Kusunoki-sempai was towards her, even going the extra length to tell her _why_ she couldn't tell the story to Minami. It was somewhat of a mystery, but if it was really that private, Minami didn't blame her. It also showed how strong the friendship Minami had with Kusunoki, and that was good for Minami as she really hero-worshipped her a lot!

'But honestly, I don't... remember that happening at all, Minami!'

Akko's words made she frown as she looked at her friend in confusion before Akko continued with an exasperated shrug.

'I mean, I _think_ I remember something like that, but I don't think it was about Katsuragi-sempai though... or was it? I... I can't remember clearly.'

Akko's brows were furrowed and even Haruka seemed puzzled as she tried to remember what had happened around the time period that Akko had mentioned. The two of them had been swimming club mates at that point, and even if they weren't as close as they were now, they should have picked up on Minami's obviously odd behavior and mannerisms as she really felt like she was in a trance herself. She wouldn't have thought she would have dared to do that, not to mention, being able to fall so deeply in love like that.

Minami guessed that there were always first time for doing things, but this particular incident really demonstrated to her how love could change people, like how loved changed Haruka as well, even going to the extent to aiding Kasuga-sempai with her love-life. Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best example to make, but she digressed.

'Sorry! I don't think I remember that time clearly as well... it's kinda hazy... kinda like what I feel when I try to remember what happened before I introduced Minami to sempai.'

Haruka nodded to Kusunoki even as the older girl paled slightly before regaining her composure and adopting a forced thoughtful expression as well. Naturally it didn't fool Haruka one bit as she raised an eyebrow suspiciously, but Minami breathed a sigh of relief when Haruka didn't comment much on that and instead choose to drive the focus back to Akko.

'So Akko, about this boy of yours... SPILL THE BEANS!'

Haruka advanced threateningly to Akko even as the girl gave a small squeal at being suddenly hounded by the _Flame of Mai High_, the tanned girl staring deep into Akko's eyes even as Minami and Kusunoki smiled at their antics.

* * *

..

As the girls enjoyed their handiwork, with Akko looking very happy at herself, Haruka looking pleased at how her batch was to Kusunoki's liking and the two 'captured girls' resigned to finishing theirs as Mari revealed that Keima didn't like sweets in the first place and wouldn't have them anyway.

Even if they wanted to argue that Mari _could_ have tell them that before they started it, Haruka was able to stop them before whispering to them that they _should_ have known about the taste of their target before hand in the first place!

So it was their fault, and Minami found herself ashamed that she still didn't know so much about Katsuragi when she had declared that she won't give up pursuing him.

Sure, she was able to point out to others what she liked about him, as well as his flaws and what others don't know about him, but Minami still couldn't find out the most basic of basics of Keima.

Like what food he likes to eat, what clothes he would prefer to wear, what he did during his spare time if it's not gaming (nothing), his favorite color and all that.

Others would point to Minami and say that those were shallow thoughts and not necessary. However, Minami didn't think so and she was emboldened when Kusunoki agreed with her.

Either way, the two of them were quietly enjoying their tea when finally, after all that had happened in the span of such a small time, Kusunoki was able to ask the question that had been bugging her for a long time.

It wasn't exactly the environment, nor the scenario that Kusunoki had imagined the two, no three, of them would be able to sit down for a small heart to heart session with each other, but beggars cannot be choosers.

Especially when Kusunoki doesn't really often have the chance to take the day off, or to visit Cafe Grandpa without being transparent about her intentions, OR meeting one of the other girls.

If it's just Minami, it's fine, she knew that despite Minami being one of her main rivals, she was on her side as well.

'Mari-san, can I... ask you a question?'

Kusunoki asked timidly, causing Mari to blink before nodding her head and encouraging the girl to continue.

'What... do you think about Katsuragi's current... relationship with us.'

There, Kusunoki had said it and she petted herself on the shoulder when it seemed that she finally had caught Mari off guard with her question. Naturally, Kusunoki and Minami were the two to be horribly embarrassed when Mari returned the favor tenfold by commenting:

'So, the two of you finally admit that you got more than one love rival for my Keima-kun, eh? I didn't think that any one of you would have the courage to ask that. I'm proud of you, Kusunoki-chan, Minami-chan~'

That comment was enough to cause the two of them to blush red even as Minami tried to reply, only to come up with squeaking noises. Kusunoki was much worse, she found herself very fascinated with her own socks as she looked down uneasily.

'Relax! I know it's harder on you girls than on me. Honestly, I must say that I'm relieved... I always thought that Keima-kun takes after his father, he was always the stoic, hardworking kind...and girls just threw themselves at him.'

Mari scowled slightly, and Kusunoki sensed a brief killing intent from Mari that she obviously misread even as the older woman managed to calm herself down before smiling.

'So it was a shock for me when he proposed to me before we even went out. Ah, that was good times. I had fun messing with the family heads too, they weren't too happy with it.'

Mari chuckled even as she leaned back while telling them about Keima's father and why he was always never around, apparently he was out on overseas assignment for an extended period, that's why they hadn't met him at all.

'He'll be absolutely excited to know that Keima-kun has so many suitors! Not that I'm surprised, apparently he got a childhood crush after him after all. Tenri-chan really is brave! I don't think she knows about any one of you though.'

Kusunoki had to mask her guilt and unease by coughing loudly, Minami only found herself frozen stiff at Mari knowing about Tenri. Then again, childhood friend, that meant that the two families' were quite close to each other. Both Kusunoki and Minami found themselves frantically trying to remember whether they did anything rude to the shy girl that Haqua had introduced the two of them a while back. They had not met with each other since then, but perhaps it was for the best!

'So if you really want an answer, I'm just glad that Keima-kun found so many nice girls willing to do so much for him. And that Keima-kun does appreciate all of you. Even if he doesn't show it, he never does, so you girls have to be a little more understanding with him, alright?'

Mari winked even as Kusunoki and Minami found themselves staring at each other before nodding, Kusunoki adding on with an explosive sigh even as Mari couldn't stop herself and just giggled.

'And... thank you, for taking care of him up till now. I've never seen him as frustrated, as well as happy as he was before. You girls... are making a difference to him, I'm sure of it. I... worried for Keima quite a bit before, but now I know that he has done some important things for you girls, I can finally say that my Keima-kun has grown up.'

If there was any doubt in Kusunoki or Minami's mind on whether they did the right thing for Keima then, it was removed when Mari thanked them again, a happy smile on her face that made the two of them feel extremely accomplished.

..

'We're done, Mari-san!'

'Sempai! Minami, come and have a look! We'll have to practise Akko's lines for tomorrow as well! A confession! A CONFESSION! Totally going to be the news of the week!'

Haruka's cry and Akko's embarrassed shout was enough to cause the three of them to start before heading to the kitchen to join their excited and reluctant friends. Their hearts feeling a little lighter than they were when they first stepped into Café Grandpa several hours ago.

* * *

..

**Author's Notes:**

**Wow that was utterly random! Anyway, it was a short anyway, and once again it was centered around Mari! Or Minami or Kusunoki. This short wasn't something that was planned, it was supposed to highlight the normalcy of the life of the girls in TWOGK: MW as well as the bonds that they had formed with the OCs in this case, Kureha Haruka, showing that their character can be developed further as well.**

**Hope you liked the very short interlude for Minami and Kusunoki, the unofficial pairing of senior + junior that happened by itself in BRP and MWs! Next up is the main show, the arc that would happen in MW but is published separately!**

**Bear with me! and I also find it fitting that this chapter was released only after MWs finished it's Eru arc, or else it would be spoilers galore!**


	8. A Certain Side 3 - Chapter 1

The World Only the Girls Know: A Moonflower's Wish for a Certain Side Story

**Side 3 – Chapter 1: Relatives**

**Author's Note: Characters from the Light Novels and Manga will be included as well**

..

Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki

Written by: wrathie

* * *

**Author's Notes: Okay, so it was totally embarrassing I actually screwed up for Chapter 7. It's fixed now, but another thing to note was how you readers can rejoice as I'm forced(?) to actually publish The Side Arc for Moonflower's Wish sooner than I thought.**

**This arc is in direct continuation of the 'Miyabi Eru' Arc of Moonflower's Wish and would draw some highlights from it.**

**Moonflower's Wish will continue with the final Arc instead of slotting this in the middle, kinda like how I did with Azalea Side and Sorrel's Teasing, that was a long time ago! Hence, there would be some elements of the story of Moonflower's Wish which wouldn't make sense without this side story. As to why I did it, I thought it better to offer my readers a faster route to the final arc rather than wait for this arc to conclude.**

**But one last final announcement from me, I'm happy and excited to announce that my commission for the OCs for TWOGK has been granted to me by the DA Artist: ****_eudetenis_**

**So for those who are interested, I'll drop the links below:**

**Rea: www. ********eudetenis. deviantart . com **/ art/Konoe-Rea-396674697

**Haruka: www. ****************eudetenis. deviantart . com **/ art/Kureha-Haruka-396676829

**Eru: www. ****************eudetenis. deviantart . com **/ art/Miyabi-Eru-396884163

**Yes, I also find it ironic that Eru looks so much like Hanekawa Tsubasa from Bakemonogatari that I have no choice but to admit that I have also no choice in the matter but designate Yui Horie-sensei as Eru's seiyuu of choice! Aha!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this Side Story, the Moonflower's Wish - A certain wish for a certain side story, and drop a review or two!**

* * *

**..**

'I'm so happy that we can share lunch together, Keima-kum.'

Nakagawa Kanon, the resident top idol of Japan smiled winningly at Katsuragi Keima, the **Capturing God** as he sat down with her in the courtyard, just the two of them together.

For Kanon, this was just one day filled with happiness, dreams and wishes for the future as she had finally, FINALLY managed to get Keima-kun for herself, all for herself this afternoon.

Even though Keima-kun's actions made her feel special as compared to the other girls, with the exception of a certain junior underclass girl that she would not want to mention, Kanon knew that she was just one fish in an entire shoal that were after Keima in general.

Not that she was very surprised by that, despite his bad reputation, Keima-kun was as gentle as can be, kinder than any of the boys who wanted to impress her but the most important point was that he was sensitive to her feelings, her dreams and what she thought of at all times.

Those were all his strong points, certainly sufficient to overwrite his negative points, which were as numerous, perhaps more than his positive points overall.

Well, Kanon felt that when he looked or spent time with her, he was at his best behavior, his hands off his PFP and he actually paid attention to her words, to what she was talking, inferring and hinting at.

What would make everything better would be for Keima to actually act on most of those same hints and what she really wanted.

..

Well, there was such a saying like being too selfish and Kanon prayed to whatever gods there were that this happy moment was not interrupted by anyone of the other girls who were interested in him as well.

To see him surrounded by girls were actually the norm nowadays, but to see just a single girl, even one like Kanon was very unusual.

Besides his sister, Elsi, there were other girls that were around him at a moment's notice if they noticed the lack of anyone with him.

At any rate, she shouldn't dwell on those negative thoughts and instead just focus on the task at hand here!

It was rare for everyone not to be present but in hindsight, it was a foreseeable event on the horizon when Kanon heard that all the girls in the second year were going on an all-girl excursion to a girl's school as part of a student exchange program for two weeks.

Kanon was exempted from the program as she was an irregular student in the first place due to her unique arrangements made with the school. Mai-High was not a prestigious school and thus the school board was quite understanding and reasonable when Kanon put her case forward to them. As if they would refuse the famous Nakagawa Kanon from her schedule at work seeing that they allowed her to take tests without coming to class anyway.

That meant that the only girls that were present and still could 'interfere' on her private 'Keima time' were her senior, Kasuga Kusunoki or the junior classman, Ikoma Minami. Seeing that the two of them were nowhere in sight, not to mention having different lunch times, Kanon chalked this up to an outstanding and clear cut victory for her side!

'I prepared this myself, Keima-kun! Please, try some!'

..

* * *

..

For Katsuragi Keima, he should have seen this coming. Elsi had been so excited about the exchange program that she had been talking about it all the week before and he still missed out on the implications of this significant event happening in front of him.

He however was rejoicing for a totally different reason from Kanon. That reason being that he could be free! Free for the first time since like ever as Elsi and Haqua, not to mention the other 'captured' girls were going to the school a few districts away and would be staying at their dormitory for the entire duration of the exchange program.

It was an exchange program after all…

Keima wished Elsi and Haqua well, may they enjoy themselves there AND FREE HIM FOR HIS GAMES AT LONG LAST!

He was hoping for that but in the end, everything went up in smoke when Kanon approached him in his own home with her manager on the first day of that supposedly holiday.

Naturally all the boys in class, no, in school wasn't as pleased at seeing Kanon sticking to Keima like super glue but at least they had the decency to not flash any of those 'anti-otamegane' banners that they were fond of displaying whenever Kanon wasn't present.

Well, it certainly could be worse as Kanon had been determined to make the best of the situation by coming to school almost every day. Keima on the other hand, had to take a few days of sick leave from the threats that were very very thinly veiled against him to offset the days that Kanon spent in school. It wouldn't do for her to fall sick from overwork, right?

All of the above wasn't even mentioning how Kanon had not yet displayed her closet yandere side that Keima had always been a little concerned about.

One of the main reasons that Keima had been keeping a close eye on Kanon as compared to the other girls was due to that specific possible character trait and he was relieved to see it not surface at all. Conversely however, the 'derey-derey' side of Kanon was in full force and it looked like he would have to endure and to accept the showers of love from Kanon, who was adamant in her attempt to make him fall for her, by hook or by crook, even if he had not fully gotten over what happened recently.

He was sure the girls knew that, and their continual and stubborn attempts to pursue him was more than intimidating enough actually.

..

'Thank you.'

Politely accepting the food that Kanon had prepared for him, Keima was tempted to quip that they looked like a newly-wedded couple, which would surely cause the poor girl to stutter in embarrassment. It was an underhanded trick, but it might let him pass through lunch without her trying to snuggle beside him, which she was prone to do so nowadays as she liked to nap a little before school started again.

It was painfully obvious to him that Kanon was struggling to come to school every day. She was still an idol after all and was 'active' every day with her work. This was inclusive of all her lessons, recording schedules and perhaps even interviews all being mashed together with her time in school.

In light of all that, all the hard work coupled together with her desire to impress Keima, comparably what Keima was doing for her was severely lacking in both sincerity and solid actions.

So the least he could do for her was to at least make her feel that all her efforts were worth the time spent with him.

He certainly was getting soft, but if that was what it took to keep the yandere side of Kanon away, it was well worth the effort spent on this. It not only guaranteed his personal safety but for the other girls as well in the most extreme of cases. Perhaps things had changed a lot since the last incident, no that Keima would _ever_ admit it. He normally tried not to think too far ahead too.

'My mother always says that tuna-sandwiches should only be served cold, so I tried my best to keep it cool by wrapping it up in foil.'

Showing Keima from the container that she was keeping them, Kanon had gone all the extra mile with this and Keima took them from Kanon gratefully and gingerly, making Kanon smile in happiness that he was appreciative of her hard work.

'Aren't you having some, Kanon?'

Asking her as she slowly unwrapped the first article of food, Kanon nodded but replied that she wanted Keima to tell her what she thought of her food first.

It was easy enough but how Kanon was looking, staring and focusing all her attention on Keima when he tried to eat made it very difficult. Those wide open eyes focusing on his every small movement, even how her mouth opened slightly when Keima was about to bite down on the sandwich was making it very hard for him to focus on the food. Eventually however, he managed to take a small bite, trying his best not to look a little freaked out or panicking upon seeing the expecting look on Kanon's face.

..

'How is it, Keima-kun? How is it?'

'It's a little hard… and dry.'

Keima answered truthfully before taking another bite, if anything he knew as the **Capturing God**, it was that it never pays off to lie when it comes to food or culinary skill for that matter as it would bite them back in the ass.

If a girl really wanted to cook for the protagonist, they should have the courage and commitment, not to mention humility to take criticisms to learn how to cook for real! This applies for the protagonist as well, if they were to be the most important person in the heroines's life, they have to have the courage to say the hard truths as it was for the heroine's benefit.

Unfortunately and perhaps ironically, this only applies to the _real_ and not to the _ideal_ which doesn't make sense as Keima was the **Capturing God** for the _ideal_ and not the _real_. Stranger things have happened though and it just proves that the **God** was almighty when it comes to girls.

He was right on this count as well as Kanon nodded in understanding.

'I guess cold sandwiches don't really work for lunch if I prepared it in the morning neh? But at least it's better than it being soggy and ruined…'

Smiling a little sadly, Kanon continued smiling as Keima finished the sandwiches with her watching on.

'You should have some as well.'

He didn't fail to notice how dark Kanon's eye circles were due to the amount of makeup that Kanon had applied today. Even her actions were a little sluggish today as compared to usual and he reached for the small flask where Kanon kept the tea that she had prepared before.

It was exactly how and why Keima kept track of those small details that made him the **Capturing God** and such a good lover!(?).

'Here, drink up. You must be tired.'

He was being far too gentle for his own good and Keima cursed internally that he was so biased towards Kanon but he just couldn't help himself.

If Kanon fainted from exhaustion, there was no doubt that there would be a stampeding mob ready to take vengeance for their fallen angel, making it a significant threat to his own life.

That said, he too wouldn't be too happy to see Kanon all worn out because of him, for his sake. In fact, he had a good mind to reprimand Kanon for pushing herself too hard for this and he would have done that, if not for the fact that he knew it was not going to be any good.

If Kanon was really worried about herself, or to rephrase his own words, if Kanon was able to put herself as more important than him, she wouldn't be pushing herself so hard, would she?

Trying to confront her about this was futile from the start and Keima gave up before even attempting this.

Or did he? There were other ways to achieve that desired result without actively confronting her about it after all.

..

'Kanon…'

Keima spoke out of the blue, reaching out at the same time even as the poor idol stiffened, her cheeks flushing red as she watched and felt Keima pick a small crumb of bread from beside her lips. If Kanon was expecting him to pop that crumb into his mouth, Kanon was too dreamy and Keima simply dropped it on the ground before speaking again.

'I was wondering…'

He seemed uncertain and that made Kanon's heart beat faster as she knew that it wasn't a common occurrence for Keima to be uncertain about anything. He always seems to be in control, knowing what to do, what not to do and what was exactly the right thing to do at any given time.

For him to be hesitant, it must be something important… or regarding something out of his control.

As part of the truce from before, all information about Keima had to be freely disseminated across the board to all the girls and due to that, Kanon knew that there were only a few things in the world that Keima had no control over.

Actually that wasn't true, there were plenty of things that Keima weren't in control over and one of them was the real or to be exact, everything that might consist and involve all of them.

Whatever they do or in extension, anything that they were involved in, no matter how small or large, Katsuragi Keima, the **Capturing God** would be unable to control.

He was a very private individual, someone who liked his solitude, his own world and his own way of doing things. If he could, he wouldn't even leave his own room if possible.

The girls however were the main reasons why he was still out and mingling in the real as Fuse Aoba, the instigator of the truce between the girls, called it.

The real was the real world that everyone lives in and that Keima shunned. If not for them, she was certain that Keima would just be in his own little world all the time, ignoring everyone and Kanon admitted that it was a pretty accurate picture of how Keima was like before she and they found out more about him.

So, whatever he was trying to talk about surely had to do with her, as she was the only one of them left. No, it had to be her, for she'll never accept it if Keima was going to ask her about another girl!

'Do you think the other girls are getting enough rest?'

..

Keima could swear that he could hear a loud cracking noise as a part of Kanon died inside with that comment and he had to fight to stop himself from grinning just a little.

It seemed that the yandere and possessive streak inside Kanon was still alive and strong, even if it was very well concealed beneath her and he continued with earnest, wondering out loud about how they were doing now, whether they were enjoying themselves and to repeatedly mention that he was concerned about their well-being.

'As all of you would know, sleep is a very important thing in keeping one's energy levels high and their complexion good. I know that Haqua is prone to staying up late, I hope that they are doing well. It wouldn't do if they fall sick after all… I remember the last time she almost fell sick, I had to force her to bed or she would have collapse.'

Another loud crack as Kanon's dreams got crushed just a tiny bit more by his remarks, surely it would cause him to suffer some repercussion for his comments. But Keima was ready for it, no, he was building up to this moment with those few lines.

'I hope the same doesn't happen to you, Kanon. I wouldn't want you to fall sick from overwork. I'll be mad at you if you did. Besides, that'll mean that you won't be able to attend school any more, wouldn't it?'

Cutting off the escape route offered to Kanon, which was that she would get to have Keima's attention the whole day if she fell sick, Kanon fell silent before sighing deeply, narrowing her eyes and pouting at Keima.

'I get it, I get it, Keima-kun… you could have just told me this from the start.'

'Tell you what?'

Feigning innocence and ignorance, Keima refused to be baited and turned back to the food and drinks that Kanon provided and poured a drink for her, telling her to drink up.

'Drink, you haven't done so since lunch started… I know you're working hard, Kanon. So it's fine if you want to take a nap after this.'

Looking up at Keima, who seemed resigned in letting her cuddle and rest her shoulder on his, seeing how he was already shifting and adjusting himself for just that, Kanon blushed and nodded.

..

* * *

..

'Oh, Keima-kun~ I almost forgot.'

Smiling as the two of them walked down the stairs together, Kanon, not for the first time, questioned about the lack of people around whenever she was with Keima. Perhaps her fans were just trying to give her the privacy to be with her beloved? Whatever the reason, she appreciated the privacy they were given, blissfully unaware or just ignoring the fact that her fans were not avoiding them because they wanted to.

No, they were doing that as they did not want to see them together. If they ignored this long enough, perhaps it was just a dream, was their reasoning.

'My cousins would be transferring into Mai-High for a while.'

Kanon seemed very excited about this news and it caused Keima to raise an eyebrow at that. Transfer students at this part of the year? There must be some extraordinary reason for them to do that and murphy's laws always seemed to work against him in this kind of situation.

He wouldn't be getting involved in yet another incident with them, would he?

Well, Elsi and Haqua were not present with him right now so there wasn't any way that he could verify that they ad Weiss inside them, could he?! So he'll be safe if another demon from New Hell registered them first!

No, he mustn't rejoice yet…

'Your cousins huh? Would they be younger than you?'

Asking politely, Keima nodded as she said that they were related on her mother's side.

..

'I got my looks from my mother you know? They always said that I had her hair and looks, even though I find the color very striking… so it must be true.'

Sticking her tongue out as she replied, Kanon and Keima discussed the implications of having oddly colored hair in the real, with Kanon adamantly saying that it was entirely possible for her to have that natural hair color as she was born with it.

Keima on the other hand wasn't so sure, telling Kanon bluntly that he wasn't that convinced about it, mentioning that only in the _ideal_ did girls have such flashy hair colors.

Another point in his favor was that the only individual who had 'unnatural' hair color was Haqua. This comment subsequently caused a certain purple-haired devil to sneeze a long way away.

'Well, I could have demon blood inside me, could I?'

Although it wasn't widely acknowledged or accepted between the girls that Elsi and Haqua were demons, partly due to the fact that they were simply too adorable and Keima being very vague when he called them that, Kanon for one accepted that fact quite readily and easily.

With that argument and possibility there, Keima grudgingly gave Kanon that point and the young idol was happy and ecstatic that she had finally gotten one over Keima.

* * *

..

The peaceful and happy days passed without incident and with Kanon revising her work schedule to attend classes in school only in the afternoon as compared to the full day, she looked much healthier and in extension, erased a large burden from Keima's shoulders.

That however, brought their own problems, namely, the boys being a lot bolder in their attempts to harass Keima whenever they got the chance.

Still, as the **Capturing God**, there was nothing that Keima couldn't ignore and he did just that, going back to his preferred life style before everything started.

Did he regret all of it? He didn't, just like how he had answered Elsi in what seemed to be a life time ago. And although he did enjoy and treasured the time that he was able to game, be it in class or otherwise, Keima realized that it was only due to the contract that he was able to truly appreciate what he had been missing.

The saying goes: 'One would always miss what is dearest to them when it was lost' after all. The _ideal_ truly seemed to be an even more perfect world in his view now…

Life itself went on regardless of what the **god** thought and no matter the days, Kanon was by his side as much as she was able to even during the weekends as well. She would drop by in the evenings to spend time with Keima, much to Mari's surprise and of course delight.

Even if Mari was still rooting for Shiori to be the girl to steal Keima's heart away, she was excited to know that Nakagawa Kanon was interested in Keima as well and it was a very hard for her to choose a favourite among the two of them.

In the end, Mari's common sense had won, deciding that even if Kanon was a very pretty and cute girl, not to mention one of the most perfect daughter-in-laws to possibly exist, she didn't feel safe having Kanon at Keima's side.

It was lost on her how much Kanon doted on Keima and that was a double-edged sword as Mari could tell, with the expert eye of a veteran in love, that Nakagawa Kanon could and would dedicate her entire life, soul and heart to her son.

..

And that was something that she didn't feel was appropriate or what Keima himself would want to accept. Even if she was in love, even if it looked like she would be happy and willing to dedicate her life to Keima till death do them part, Mari was worried that it was a kind of love that would spell disaster to the two of them as well.

No doubt Keima wouldn't want that and no doubt Kanon would just ignore that, causing friction between the two of them.

Thankfully it seemed that Kanon hadn't fallen into that trap yet and was still in the early stages of her obsessive love.

It was with great pride and happiness for Mari to note that Keima could pick up on those warning signs as well and Mari was happy for him to have learnt that skill without being taught it.

..

A lesser person would have accepted Kanon's obsessive love without question or hesitation, believing it too good to be true but Mari could tell that Keima was trying to steer Kanon onto the right path, to accept a smaller but more fulfilling and loving relationship between the two of them, if it really ended up that way in the end.

The two of them, Mari and Keima would not want the idol to look back in her life and regret what she done in the heat of the moment, or done in the name of 'love' in this case.

Not that the two of them were biased against Kanon. No, it was that they just didn't feel too comfortable or right with the brand of love that Kanon was providing.

..

With Mari's help, Keima managed to slowly nudge Kanon towards a more conventional kind of love, where she wouldn't get the urge to get all possessive and jealous in a heartbeat.

That wasn't to say that Kanon's feelings towards Keima changed, it would be a better idea to say that Kanon was a lot more secure with her relationship with Keima after Mari had a small talk with her, asking her what she dreamed to do in the future.

It was a huge relief for her and Keima, who was eavesdropping when she managed to get Kanon to answer more than simply: 'I want to be with Keima-kun, supporting what he wants to do~"

This was perhaps why Keima had been so adamant in rejecting Kanon the time he captured her?

The **Capturing God** really works in mysterious ways but then again, so did parents, especially mothers, who would look through any mischief that the younger generation could be up to.

..

It all probably came about due to their experiences or the generational gap between them, who knows?

'What's wrong, Keima-kun?'

Kanon knew that there were times that Keima's attention would just shift into nowhere, his eyes focused and yet unfocused, staring into nothing at all. He would never tell anyone what he was thinking or of just staring at even if Kanon asked him about it.

It didn't worry her as much as everyone has their own secrets that they wished to keep, especially herself and she was glad that Keima hadn't poked and pried about her life, her family and everything else.

Not that Kanon was worried about Keima exposing or learning about her private or professional life but she was just worried that Keima would believe some of the unsavorable rumours that might be circulating round.

Kanon knew that Keima was a genius, he has to be in order to do what he tended to do in class and yet still top the student population when it comes to grades.

There was no doubt too about how Keima was able to investigate and to 'capture' all the other girls that were now more or less attracted to him.

Kanon had no other way to describe the situation. Anything less would just be hinting that she was in denial, something that might be possible sometime back.

Looking back at the few months before, Kanon herself was probably in denial, unable to accept how she could ever be one of many girls in a quadrangle relationship with Katsuragi Keima.

..

Yes, quadrangle and perhaps more… perhaps it's more than that… quadrangle relationship.

Her, Nakagawa Kanon was in a more complicated relationship than some of the drama serials that she has starred in so far. How anyone else would laugh if they found out.

Back to the topic of her personal life, there were things there that Kanon wouldn't want Keima to know just yet, not till their relationship as firmer and stable. Right now, Kanon knew that she was 'cheating', taking advantage of the other girl's absence to raise her 'affection points' in Keima.

Look at what she was saying right now, using terms like 'affection points' in her own thoughts was really…

'Kanon?'

It was her turn to space out and the top idol of Japan blushed while saying that she had probably listened to Fuse Aoba a little too much.

Kanon wasn't that surprised to see him stiffen just slightly upon knowing that she had been listening to Fuse Aoba and the idol didn't blame him.

..

Fuse Aoba was an individual who was… unique as as she was so similar to Katsuragi Keima and yet… so different.

Like Keima, she was a lone wolf who liked to keep to herself, a good thing in his view, considering how eccentric she was.

But unlike Keima, Aoba didn't reject being with people and since she was the individual who had mooted and implemented the 'truce' between all the girls and who didn't play favorites to anyone.

Aoba was a valued asset to anyone who was willing to endure her lectures as they thought them so much about what Keima was basing his life on.

Then again, Keima loved to have an audience too… but none of the girls could truly understand what he was talking about.

'You shouldn't listen to her.'

There was a definite pause in his reply to her comment and Kanon smiled teasingly at Keima while the boy just continued staring at his PFP. It irked her a little to know that Keima preferred the PFP when he could have stared at her while they were walking back together.

'Is Keima-kun worried? Fuse-san is very knowledgeable about Keima-kun after all~'

'Her facts and lectures are based on assumptions, which are –'

'Dangerous desho? They aren't based on the truth after all… but I do like Fuse-san, does that make me odd?'

'… Not quite.'

Keima admitted that after a while and he seemed resigned as he looked up from his PFP to look at Kanon again.

'Hmm?'

'It is a good thing for you to recognize and approve of Fuse in a way… but I would wish that you treat her as a friend and not a repository of information about me.'

Kanon froze mid-step before narrowing her eyes to small slits as Keima continued walking on, not even phased by the change in her expression.

'I wish to highlight that some people have that motive in mind when consulting her about something in particular. She is the **Mai-Hime**, a genius and an individual with great knowledge but at the same time, a naïve girl who can be used without her knowing.'

Highlighting that to Kanon, Keima didn't realize that it was the first time that he has spoken to one of the 'captured' girls about another 'captured' girl.

As a rule, all of the girls were discouraged to interfere with each other's dates and like with Keima, all adopted a 'don't ask, don't tell' approach to each other, not that they were actively withholding information from each other, they just didn't feel like telling each other what they did with Keima when they were alone.

It was the same with Keima, who apparently wanted to be the most neutral party of all in the entire school, refusing to compare any of the girls with each other and not giving a personal assessment to anyone of them in what they were doing or what he felt of them.

It was something that both vexed and flattered the girls as they were happy that Keima was protecting their own privacy but at the same time, prevented each other from knowing about how they fared against the other girls.

Troubling but understandable when they looked at the situation from an observer's standpoint.

'She is more than a database. She is an individual who is fond of coming up with solutions and answers from information that she was either given or obtained by herself. She is sharp, stubborn and determined to seek out a truth of what she is currently observing. Notice the words 'a truth' for there is really no way to properly identify or guarantee a truth due to the basic nature of the element. Anything when viewed from another angle would be something else and that is the right way to describe something as flawed and ever changing as the truth. Back to the topic, this attitude of hers makes it easy to persuade and to win over for one's cause.'

Closing his eyes briefly, Keima sighed and told Kanon that he worries for Aoba sometimes.

'The **real** isn't fair and that's how it is, faced with the reality of the harsh **real,** she doesn't seem phased or bothered by it... she is a genius ahead of her age and perhaps her time.'

It was a praise, a definite one from Keima and one that Kanon agreed with. There seemed to be nothing that Fuse Aoba couldn't do or figure out and Keima was spot on with his assessment... and yet...

'Keima-kun is the same, desho?'

'…?'

You can't refuse any one of us, can you? Even if you say it is to make amends, I don't feel that is quite so.'

He's weak to attack types, that was definitely declared before and Kanon smiled beautifully at the startled Keima, who frowned before smiling slightly, as if in confirmation of her words.

'I'll be glad to prove you wrong.'

Kanon's face dropped immediately and she latched on to Keima's arm without hesitation, swinging it about unhappily as Keima ignored Kanon's actions like he had promised.

'Keima-kun! Keima-kun! I didn't mean it!'

* * *

..

It was until afternoon did Keima finally relent but by that time, he had ired the wrath of almost all of the student population with Kanon's insistent and unrelenting begging for him to change his mind and to talk to her again. Still, as it was his fault, Keima had no other choice but to blame himself for all this. With that said, the legend of Katsuragi Keima, both good and bad, continued to spread like wild fire in the school.

Keima was just teasing her of course but Kanon really was panicking at the end of lunch time when a voice shattered the silence between the two of them.

'Are you bullying Kanon Onee-chan?'

Wearing the uniform of the junior high section, the girl stomped over to Keima, over-exaggerating her footsteps as she did so to stand in front of Keima.

She was a petite girl, anything else used to describe her would be impolite and it was obvious, not from how she called Kanon 'onee-chan' that the two of them were related. Why you ask? She shared the same shocking pink hair colour that characterized Kanon but was much darker in shade.

'Are you, are you?! Stop that! Stop that this instant!'

'Ah, Clair-chan... I-It's not like that...'

Kanon seemed to have found a way out of the deadlock as she trailed off even while Keima rolled his eyes and went back to his PFP again, totally ignoring the girl that was waving a finger in front of him.

'Stop bullying Onee-chan! What are you going to do if Onee-chan breaks up with you?'

It was a statement that made Kanon break into a coughing fit for a few seconds before she could recover and tell Clair that they weren't in that kind of relationship.

'Really? I thought this was the boy that Onee-chan said you wanted to marry?'

As Kanon clamped her hands over the girl's mouth, Keima was suddenly aware of the sudden spike in killer intent from everywhere around him. It was as though everyone could hear their conversation as he fought hard the urge to sigh again, focusing his attention on his PFP instead. It was always useful to focus on his PFP instead.

'Please forgive Clair nee-chan, Katsuragi-san, she likes to tease people.'

It was more than that and Keima was saved from the urge to retort when he saw another girl, one that looked exactly that same as the first beside him. If he was shocked, he didn't show it as he went back to his PFP again after registering that information.

'Clair-nee, I think that's enough, don't you think so?'

Instead of sighing as she was warranted, no, entitled to, the other girl, the younger of the twins, simply sat beside Keima as Kanon and Clair bickered with each other on why they were doing there now.

..

'Clair-chan is supposed to be doing your paperwork today!'

'But we wanted to look around the school, Kanon onee-chan! You're being mean! I can't believe you choose to be with your boyfriend and ignored our calls!'

Actually Keima could believe that but he tuned off the argument to focus instead on the younger sister, who was waiting patiently for them to finish as she sat beside him on the mat that Kanon had prepared earlier.

'…'

'Rise... Nakano Rise. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Katsuragi-san.'

'You two must be Kanon's cousin.'

'Yes, Kanon-nee must have told you about us. I am happy to finally meet the person that Kanon-nee has always been talking about.'

Smiling as she said that, Rise simply watched together with Keima as the two more energetic and vocal individuals continued to argue with each other. It was odd to see Kanon arguing though but she must be working off the frustration or the anger that she felt with Keima ignoring her earlier. Not even Kanon was perfect after all. No one could be.

Even so, the other girl, Clair, was more than a match for Kanon, countering her arguments just as easily as the two of them went at it.

'Then you could have gone on to visit your new class!'

'They haven't settled on which class to transfer us into! It'll only be for a few weeks after all!'

'We see each other every day now, Clair-chan!'

'Seeing each other as you rush off for work everyday, onee-chan? We only see each other 5 minutes a day, tops! I know you want to be with your boyfriend all the time but that's just too much! Everyone knows about the argument the two of you have today in school by now! What if the magazines got hold of this scope? Onee-chan, I was worried that's why I came over to help!'

That silenced Kanon and she looked down awkwardly before looking back at Keima, who was still playing his PFP.

'Like I said, stop bullying onee-chan!'

There was a definite pause as Keima reaffirmed that Clair was speaking to him before she replied.

'She started it.'

Deadpanning, Kema ignored the look of disbelief and subsequent anger from Clair as she pointed her fingers at him.

'A boy shouldn't pin the blame on the girl for what he did!'

Reciting it from a book or something, Keima replied by saying that he was simply stating the truth.

'Kanon-nee~'

The argument would have continued on if not for Rise, the quieter girl telling her that they should be going as the bell was about to ring anyway.

'Good bye, Katsuragi-san, Kanon-nee.'

Recovering her energy quickly, Clair quickly took the lead again even as Kanon waved goodbye while the twins retreated from sight.

* * *

..

'Your cousins.'

'Yes, they are my cousins.'

Relieved that Keima was talking with her again, Kanon's eyebrows raised when Keima commented that they were quite a pair.

'A generic pair of twins.'

A harsh comment but still the truth as Kanon smiled and said there was nothing wrong with that.

'and why didn't I feel surprised with that statement, Keima-kun.'

Sighing to herself, Kanon continued talking about her cousins even as Keima went back to his game.

'Clair-chan has always been energetic! She takes after my aunt, who is fond of going to safaris and expeditions overseas. Rise is like my uncle, patient and kind but Keima-kun could tell easily, neh?'

'…'

'Aww... you're ignoring me again...'

'Maybe.'

As the two of them teased each other ever so slightly, with Kanon pouting and complaining to Keima, everyone around them couldn't help but accept that the two of them really looked and played the part of a couple all too well.

'You fans are doing a good job of keeping the matter under wraps, Kanon.'

Speaking out suddenly, Keima raised the issue that Clair had mentioned earlier and was a little unnerved when Kanon stuck her tongue out and said that she had declared in her personal blog that the two of them were actually very good childhood playmates that had been reunited after been separated when they were young.

'As it is like an official announcement, all of them are jealous that the two of us are getting along very well~'

'…'

Keima had lots of points to argue about that statement, namely how Kanon was more interested in a relationship that far surpassed friendship or was platonic but he knew that it would be pointless to discuss that with her.

Still, it answered a lot of questions as to why most of the fan girls tolerated him and the boys hated and were jealous of him.

If it works, don't break it was the saying and Keima decided to follow that unspoken rule and keep mum about what he felt.

'~~~ So don't worry, Keima-kun~ We're just childhood playmates reunited together and reminiscing together, neh?'

Teasing him as she stuck her tongue out while running in front of him, Nakagawa Kanon really looked dazzling as she said that, making Keima stare a little at how happy she was in being able to spend time with him.

'Are you happy?'

That was a silly question but he lowered his head to hide the slight blush that was appearing on his face while he asked that. Keima jumped a little too as Kanon stuck her face closing to him without warning.

'I am! I've never done this before even while I'm younger... It' the first time I can enjoy my school life with friends... and with the person that... I like.'

Blushing in embarrassment as she said that out softly, Kanon recovered quickly as she walked in front of him again, waiting for him to catch up at his own pace.

'… It feels like a dream, it really does. I'm being very selfish, aren't I? I can do what I like as a career... experience school life with Ayumi-chan and the rest... and most importantly, to be with Keima-kun this two weeks... it's just... too good to be true, neh?'

Sniffing a little as Kanon reflected on what has been going on this past few days, the top idol blinked and sobbed just a little as Keima said that it was probably what she was working for all this time.

'This is what you wanted and what you have earned, Kanon. You shouldn't think of it as selfish, or as a dream. You've earned it with all your hard work.'

And he was being sincere about it, even if it was widely acknowledged that he was biased towards Kanon, the truth was that she needed the most attention as she was never present.

Till now, Nakagawa Kanon was finally present to receive all that she was working for so far.

'Thank you... Keima-kun.'

* * *

**Author's Notes: Oh right, no beta this round, so forgive me for the mistakes. Also, if you would like to argue that after the Eru Arc, Keima is a little too energetic or recovered, I would like to counter-argue that this is Kanon he is dealing with. Besides, Capturing God would try not to get himself into TOO much trouble than it is worth.**

**So there's my argument! Drop a review please! Would like it lots!**


	9. A Certain Side 3 - Chapter 2

The World Only the Girls Know: A Moonflower's Wish for a Certain Side Story

**Side 3: Chapter 2 – Cousins**

**Author's Note: Characters from the Light Novels and Manga will be included as well**

..

Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki

Written by: wrathie

* * *

**Author's Notes: Just to clarify again, this is the Side Story for Moonflower's Wish, and it's totally part of the time line! That's why you can see Keima in this Side story itself. We call it 'Side Story', but it's actually a full blown arc itself!**

**No beta for this, so forgive me for my errors! Incidentally, for those who have been interested enough to check out the designs of the OCs of Moonflower's wish, here's another surprise:**

** art / Miyabi-Eru-and-Hanekawa-Tsubasa-397668796**

**Officially, let's declare Hocchan the Seiyuu for Eru and we can call it a day! Aha~ As usual, please enjoy!**

* * *

..

'Let's go celebrate!'

Clair jumped on Kanon as she left her classroom, together with Keima of course and Clair beamed at Keima too as she suggested that the two of them go out after school today.

'We did our paperwork! They'll be happy to accept us for these few weeks, onee-chan! We can go to school together and then eat lunch together and then go back together, do our homework together and then-'

'Breath, Clair.'

Again with the straight-man act, Rise bowed to the two of them politely as she pulled her over-excited sister away from Kanon.

'Ah... I hope so... I mean, my schedule is a little...'

Looking awkward as she smiled at the two younger girls apologetically, Kanon sighed when Clair made a loud vocal protest against the idea.

'But then we'll have breakfast and lunch everyday okay? I'll get Ms. Okada to drive me to school for lunch everyday if I can!'

Trying to persuade Clair to quieten down unsuccessfully, Keima raised an eyebrow when Rise simply stood beside the two of them as though it was the most common thing in the world.

'This has happened before.'

'Ah.'

Once again it was just a statement declaring it to be true and Keima smiled encouragingly as Rise nodded in affirmative.

'It is common enough.'

'You are not stopping her.'

'They would calm down eventually.'

Taking her cue as Rise started to make her way out of the school, Keima was both amused at the difference between the twin sisters and a little disturbed that the archetypes he knew about were still so predicable as always.

Well, he wasn't one to judge and he just followed Rise's lead, knowing that Kanon expected him to tag along anyway.

'A-Ah, Keima-kun!'

'Rise!'

As she expected, the other two broke off their argument to pursue them almost immediately.

'I told you so.'

Rise almost seemed smug as she and Keima continued on, ignoring their cries of surprise.

* * *

..

'You are the younger one.'

A statement and not question from Keima as he started to test the waters of his own little theory. In this case, there was more than a bit of incredulous disbelief mixed into his question as Rise simply nodded in reply and even tilted her head slightly. With the small smile twitching at the end of her mouth as she tried to hide her amusement from him.

'Surprising, yes.'

Following his example, Rise stated matter-of-factedly as they watched Kanon and Clair discuss about what to get in Café Grandpa.

'Not really.'

Keima replied without thinking and this actually made Rise smile and blush a little as she told Keima that Kanon actually told them that he would say that.

Kanon and Clair did get along very well and suspected that it was due to Kanon's past if she was so attached to her cousins. Especially so if she seemed to degrade to one of those childish high-schoolers almost immediately when with Clair. This left Rise as the straight-man, which she didn't seem to mind playing really.

Then again, Kanon was totally unlike her stage 'persona' with him so he wasn't about to comment too much.

'I take it that she has told you a lot about me.'

Keima offered in reply and Rise simply nodded while Keima served tea to the quieter member of the twins. He did notice that Rise had her eyes constantly looking around nervously, as though frightened about something.

No, that wasn't exactly right, but it was something that he had seen Kanon do before, was she conscious about her looks?

'You have not ordered. Are you waiting for someone?'

Asking her at long last, Keima nodded as Rise replied in the negative while trying the tea that he had prepared.

'I will have this. Kanon-nee recommended it to me... and this is good tea, Katsuragi-san, thank you.'

Breaking into another smile, Rise and Keima enjoyed their tea even as Mari entertained Kanon and Clair with the menu and choices of cakes.

'We are staying with Kanon-nee now. Does Ms. Okada know about the two of you?'

Asking a question in turn, Rise nodded as Keima replied in affirmative as well.

'It would be bad if she did not, Ms. Okada is scary.'

Her choice of words were not uncommon for a girl of her age or Keima was just over-thinking it as the normally unflappable Rise shivered ever so slightly while mentioning Ms. Okada tomoe, Kanon's manager.

'I agree.'

Still, Keima agreed with her statement, that lady was an enigma like Nikaido Yuri, smart as well as dangerous in heels.

As the two of them shivered slightly upon remembering the dangerous looks from their respective banes, Mari and the other girls returned with a tray of assorted cakes.

..

'it's nice to have your cousins over, Kanon-chan~~ But they'll be here only for a short stay?'

Looking very disappointed as they shared the cakes together, Mari looked over at to Clair for answers but it was Rise who answered as Clair struggled to finish her slice of cake.

'It's due to work and family problems, Mari-san.'

Rise's tone implied that it would be best if they did not pry further and Mari nodded in understanding while Keima served some tea for Clair to help her.

'Katsuragi-san is nice after all~ No wonder Onee-chan is going out with him~'

Saying that outrageous statement that had Kanon spit-take even if it was a secret dream of hers. It was an inelegant action with only had Mari spinning her head to glare at Keima for answers, Clair was un-phazed even as Rise reprimanded her for her words, the quieter of the twins apologized on Clair's behalf while saying that she was mistaken.

'It is a common mistake.'

Keima offered and added on, relentlessly breaking Kanon's dreams even as the idol smiled painfully at how her dreams were crushed like that, even by the one she liked.

'But not impossible.'

Rise offered as a lifeline and with Keima silent and unwilling to divulge further, Kanon's dreams was still left intact in the end.

'Then Clair has a chance!'

This new statement simply caused Kanon to spill her tea while Mari just gawked at the younger girl.

'Just kidding?'

Rise offered again but with a hint of confusion in her normally composed voice means that she wasn't convinced herself that Clair was trying a joke. This by itself was enough to send alarm bells ringing in Keima's mind but it was too late for him to intervene.

'I'm not!'

'Keima-kun's mine.'

It was almost inspiring how fast Kanon replied upon hearing that, and she stake her claim on Keima immediately upon hearing that challenge, even if it's from her cousin while Clair childishly pouted at Rise.

Before he noticed what was going on, Clair had moved to sit beside Keima, who was beside Mari and she stuck her tongue out at Kanon as she latched on to his arm.

'Clair... chan.'

Visibly twitching, Kanon was really mad at Clair as she simply stuck her nose in the air before grabbing her fork, stabbing it enthusiastically at her cake. Everyone knew what was going to happen before she even started her next move.

'Don't.'

Firmly but politely, Keima made Clair put the fork and the slice of cake down back to her plate before she could attempt to feed him. Looking to the side, Keima was not amused to see Mari torn between amusement and concern that the younger girl apparently had feelings of affections towards him. Or at least a crush on him, he wasn't quite sure which was which justright now.

What made the scene a little more disconcerting for Keima was that he wasn't sure. Yes, he, **the Capturing God** wasn't sure whether it was a joke by Clair, an attempt to have Kanon's attention, an attempt to mimic Kanon by trying to like him or genuine affection for him.

Each one of those scenarios had their own different lines to deliver and the wrong ones would just make the situation more complex.

Still, he dismissed the notion of simply ignoring the situation and let sleeping dogs lie, Kanon was looking quite furious at this development, which was a little startling by itself. Her jealous streak was apparently still very strong and he feared for further repercussions if he did not act now.

'Don't, Clair. This is unbecoming of you.'

Gently easing the girl's grip on his arm, Keima told Clair that even if she really did like him, emphasizing on the word 'if', she shouldn't be so eager to jump the gun.

'Everything counts, Clair. Both the outside and the inside of a person should be taken into consideration before you declare your affections. There is another thing that we call atmosphere, when one should express one's affection to be accepted by the other person. You've failed in those two aspects, Clair and that is why I do not believe that you are ready to declare affections for anyone just yet.'

Struggling to make his speech pompous and yet simple enough for Clair to understand, Keima breathed easier when Clair suddenly blurted out that she didn't know people can reject a confession.

'Is that really true?'

Keima hadn't asked the two girl's age, a girl's age was like their weight were sacred figures and he was not going to ire the wrath of Kanon by asking about her two cousins. But from her question, it looked quite clear to them that they were probably in their first year in junior high, it's not like he ever _though_ he'll actually need that information.

Or Clair was just a natural air-head, which wasn't that unlikely all things considered.

'They can, Clair-chan. Sometimes people that you like don't like you back.'

Trying very hard not to look at Keima while she was explaining it to Clair, Keima noticed Rise biting her lip after looking at him. Rise was apparently the younger of the pair but she was definitely smarter and more mature, she probably had noticed what Kanon was trying hard not to imply to Clair. Still, it was a futile effort as Clair asked whether Keima rejected Kanon if the two of them were not going out together.

'If onee-chan has already told Keima-kun that she liked him, that meant that Keima-kun has rejected onee-chan, neh? Then Clair has a chance since he never rejected me!'

It was a complicated issue and Kanon found herself lost for words when Clair took her position beside Keima again, looking happy while Kanon just spluttered, trying to say something and failing.

..

As for Keima, he was currently torn between rejecting Clair or just telling him that she shouldn't do this. Thankfully for him however, Mari intervened at long last.

'Clair-chan, why do you like Keima-kun?'

It was a question that should be asked in private but seeing that Clair has already confessed so openly, Keima called that a good move as Clair seemed to be a little confused at that.

'I... I just like Keima-kun? Do I need a reason?'

'Yes, to really like a person is to think about that person with all of your heart. To put that person above or equal to you at all times. To do that you need a definite reason to like the person, it may be something that you can't describe and can only feel... but if you don't have that, you can't say that you like a person.'

Mari's words were perhaps a little deep for Clair to wrap her head around but Rise nodded in understanding before pulling Clair back to her seat beside her.

'Sorry for causing trouble for you, Katsuragi-san. Clair, you should apologize to Kanon-nee too.'

Poking the confused twin, Rise endured a brief hair-ruffling by Kanon who had finally recovered from her shock when it wasn't even her fault.

'Rise-chan, you have to take better care of your sister!'

'Hai Hai, Kanon-nee.'

Letting loose a long suffering sigh, the younger sister looked at the older sibling even as she continued failing in trying to understand Mari's explanation.

It was a simple question but it was probably too hard for Clair to fully grasp for now, how air-headed was she anyway?

* * *

..

'That was surprising.'

Keima said so to Kanon, who looked embarrassed at being reminded of what she did earlier with Clair. In Mari's eyes, Kanon had probably dropped a few rankings in Keima's eyes or so as she did get worked up enough to get into a tiff with a girl that was probably 3-4 years younger than her.

Even if Clair could be called a young adult now, it was apparent to all that she wasn't fully mature in her mind yet.

Looks in this case was not deceiving but it was in the case of the younger sibling. Worse of all, Keima hadn't asked them about their age yet, for all he knew they could be geniuses who skipped a few grades to get to Mai-High.

That possibility was however slim due to the fact that there was already a genius in the list of 'captured' girls, namely Fuse Aoba. The two of them fitted into the 'transfer student' and 'twins' category but Keima had the inkling that he could already see the ending even at this point if it _really _came down to capturing them.

Back to Kanon however, there was also the possibility that Mari's opinion of Kanon improved when she was ready to stake her claim of Keima so openly, Mari might appreciate someone who really liked Keima that much that she couldn't back down from a challenge when it was regarding him. The chances were unfortunately, very slim and Kanon felt like digging a hole and hiding into it for taking Clair's statement at point value and so seriously to boot.

'… D-Don't remind me, Keima-kun... I'm so embarrassed.'

'At yourself for taking Clair too seriously... or for what Clair said?'

'K-Keima-kun!'

Keima teased her while he washed the dishes together with her. Keima wasn't that surprised to see Mari chatting and teaching the girls how to make tea, it was probably a small 'test' of hers and although Keima could guess as to what she was actually testing, he refrained from asking Mari about the results.

For the record, every girl that had visited Cafe Grandpa had brewed tea under Mari's guidance or supervision, that led more credence to Keima's theory that it was a test that was thought up by Mari. Or perhaps it was a Katsuragi tradition, as Elsi had gone through the same as well.

'That wasn't funny! My heart stopped when Clair said that she might like Keima-kun...'

Kanon paused before looking at him suspiciously, her voice turning colder when she realized that Keima was calling Clair on a first name basis so quickly. Perhaps he really had a thing for younger girls after all?

'She's younger than me and it'll be odd for me to call her so formally, no? it's best for me to call her by her name. It is something that even Rise accepted.'

As Keima explained, Kanon nodded sceptically as it had been quite a while before she got Keima to call her by her name, well, she had been insistent on him doing so then...

'Still... would Keima... like Clair at all?'

She had to ask this question even if it was redundant as this was a trick question that Aoba had talked about during one of her lectures.

_'If a person has to think about a question with only two answers, either possibility would be possible but if a person who could answer immediately with nary a pause, that answer is statistically proven to be true.'_

Statistically proven wasn't really rocket science nor was it a _truth_ but Kanon would be more assured of the situation if Keima could answer with a definite no. Besides, Kanon had faith in what Fuse told her.

However that was not to be as Keima simply answered with: 'What do you think, Kanon?'

Answer a question with a question, the **Capturing God** struck again!

* * *

..

'Bye bye~'

Rise waved goodbye to the Katsuragi household as the three girls popped into the car that came over to fetch them. The three of them had dinner with the Katsuragi household as Mari had been insistent they do so.

Mari had went all out with her cooking and with Kanon helping and the girls being 'entertained' by Keima's lectures about how 'heroines' should act, all of them had a good time.

Well maybe except for Kanon and Mari, who fretted by themselves when Clair announced over dinner that she has learnt lots from Keima and would strive to be a 'heroine' too.

That led to Keima being fed dark glares by Mari and Kanon before he explained to them that he was merely telling them about how sincerity from a heroine could touch the heart of any one, especially the protagonist, had he been let off the hook.

'Come again, dears!'

Mari smiled while watching the girls get into the car, she nodded to Ms. Okada as she said her thanks before driving off.

'Did you like the two of them, Keima-kun?'

Mari asked casually as she closed the door behind her, she wasn't that surprised when Keima didn't answer as he was glued to his PFP again so she tried anyway, telling them that she herself did.

'It's like having another child again... and the two of them were very cute~ Keima-kun, your parents are the only child of their families so you don't have any cousins or nieces... So I really find it cute that you got along so well with them. Keima-kun is a good big brother after all~'

Mari praised him even as she watched as Keima nodded absent-mindedly, muttering something about how younger children were troublesome too. She agreed with that no doubt but at least Clair had Rise with her.

'They look like they are in junior high but Clair-chan is a little...'

'Sheltered.'

Keima offered and Mari nodded her head in agreement.

'That's right... sheltered... Rise-chan isn't like that though.'

'I agree. She is more mature than Clair, if quiet.'

It was probably the first time that the two of them were able to discuss about girls together, a first... but something that really wasn't important but precious to Mari as she and her son discussed about Kanon's cousin together for a while.

At least till Mari suddenly asked Keima would it be okay if they had another child.

'Definitely not!'

'Ehh... why? It could be a sister too you know?'

* * *

..

'Good morning, Keima-kun.'

Mari greeted her son as he came down from his room and with his PFP in tow. Quite honestly Mari had given up expecting her son to be 'normal' but if not being 'normal' was able to net him so many attractive girls, Mari honestly wasn't sure her own judgement was right at all now. She had her own favourites amongst those girls who aspired to land Keima and she just hoped that those girls really know what they were doing.

If they didn't, they were in for a very hard time indeed with Keima even if they were able to overcome all the others who were after his heart.

'Good morning.'

Mari smiled at Keima's greeting even as she served him breakfast while handing him his packed lunch for today but that seemed to have been unnecessary as the doorbell rang all of a sudden, causing Mari to look surprised at having a guest so early in the morning.

Mari had considered giving Asami a spare house key if she were to emerge the winner but she seemed to favour knocking on their side door anyway. Seeing that this was from the main door to the cafe, Mari had to hurry and to look at least presentable before opening the door to greet her first guest for the day.

Guests actually as it was Clair and Rise who were at the door greeting Mari energetically. At least Clair did, Rise seemed more embarrassed than anything else as Clair took the initiative to ask Mari.

'Good Morning, Mari-san! Do you remember us? Clair here!'

'And Rise...'

They were twins after all but it was surprisingly simple to differentiate the two of them due to how they behaved, Mari beaming down at the two of them as she invited them in.

'So how can Café Grandpa do for you two dears? We're not open so early in the morning but if you want some cake I can whip up something in a bit.'

'We came to walk to school with Katsuragi-san, he didn't leave for school yet right? Kanon-nee said that she was busy with work today and so we thought we could walk to school with him!'

'Is that so? It's very nice for you to do that, Clair-chan. Keima-kun is having her breakfast now, do you girls have breakfast already? I could make some hot drinks for you two...'

Mari's words were left on deaf ears as Clair rushed over to where Keima was sitting while Rise glanced nervously at Mari as she was obviously nervous and unsure about how Mari would act.

Rise wasn't as silly as her air-headed and impulsive older sister and she had heard enough from Mari and Kanon to deduce that there were many other girls who liked Katsuragi Keima.

As to why the boy was able to tolerate and sustain a lifestyle like the one he was living without any of the girls getting mad at him or his inactivity towards them was not known to Rise. But at least she knew that a situation like Keima's wasn't actually natural or normal. Just by acknowledging that, Nakano Rise had became just one of a few 'sane' and yet 'normal' people that surrounded Keima.

The 'captured' girls were either too thick-skinned to care or they just had more important things to focus on to examine and acknowledge how crazy their lives were as part of the so-called Katsuragi 'harem'.

At least Rise could see that it was insane, and that was an important step to actually staying out of the way of Katsuragi Keima, the more one associates with him, the odder and more twisted one's perceptions with the world became.

Something that apparently had gotten to Clair much more than Rise had and she was currently sitting beside Keima while smiling at him sweetly.

It was enough to at least make Keima look up from his PFP briefly to see the younger girl smiling happily and then greeting him with the same energetic and happy tone as well.

'Good morning, Katsuragi-san! Can we walk to school with you?'

'… If you want to.'

'Can we eat lunch with you later on?'

'We're in different grades.'

'Can we still try?'

'If you want to.'

'Then would you try out lunch that we made together? Rise-chan makes very nice spaghetti!'

'Only if you would try it too.'

That seemed to stop the conversation for a moment as Clair hesitated or at least she seemed to ponder about Keima's answer before nodding her head.

'If you try my cooking first.'

That was enough for Keima to deduce that her younger sister could at least cook edible stuff, Clair... not so much. Thankfully Keima knew what he was going into in advance and he personally made sure that he would at least finish Mari's lunch and coming up with an excuse to avoid Clair's cooking.

Sure, he knew that would probably defeat Clair's purpose in coming to share lunch with him but survival was more important to him after all. It wouldn't do for him to forsake the peace that he had been given just because he couldn't read the warning signs given to him in advance. This was surely another obstacle that the _real _had for him to stop him from indulging in the _ideal_.

Well played, _real, _using a younger girl to ensure his compliance into this nefarious plan!

'That can be arranged if you really want to, Clair. Tell me, what brought you here today?'

Clair was about to speak up when Rise entered the kitchen and bowed politely to him after seeing that she caught his eyes.

'Good morning, Katsuragi-san.'

'Rise, you're here too.'

Keima greeted her non-commitedly while ignoring how Clair seemed to pout at Keima giving Rise more attention than she did. Honestly there really wasn't much of a difference but to a younger girl who was not very well-versed in love, the signs and seeds of jealousy were taking root.

'Katsuragi-san, I confessed to you, right?'

Clair was visibly growling as she glared at Keima, giving her best impression of an angry pout that could be rightly called adorable as well.

'...Not quite, you weren't in the right mindset like I did explain to you the day before.'

'Is it because I'm not a heroine?'

Keima winced internally as he didn't consider how his own teachings could be used against him.

Well played again, _real_, well played. To think that you would educate this girl in the ways and means of the _ideal_!

..

'Not because you aren't a heroine.'

'So I'm not a heroine after all! Why aren't I one? I looked it up online with Rise-chan's help! Wait... I am a heroine?'

Keima noticed that the calmer and more mature of the two suddenly blushed, her cheeks flaring pink while Keima took note. If it was enough to make even Rise feel unsettled, what did she mean by that.

'Katsuragi-san, we are transfer students! That means we can be heroines! Plus, we are underclassman! So you are our sempai!'

If Clair wasn't embarrassed when greeted with the sight of Keima actually face-palming in front of them, Rise was embarrassed enough for the two of them as her cheeks had turned rosy red.

–

'Katsuragi-san, Katsuragi-san! Why are you so quiet! You should be happy to have us walking to school with you!'

Clair was pouting as she struggled to keep up with Keima, who was walking faster than the two of them despite having his eyes on his game. It was actually quite an odd sight, normally he would be together with Yoshino Asami or Elsi. Even with their absence due to the school trip, Kanon had taken some time to indulge in some of her own fantasies and had walked to school with him.

It was awkward because Keima had to bear the angry and jealous looks given to him by all the Kanon fans around.

At least they had stopped putting up the signs that begged Kanon to reconsider her options with Keima. It wasn't that Keima was protective of Kanon or anything, he just did not want to see Kanon upset after she saw those signs for the first time.

And having Kanon defending Keima was something that could put a mark on her career, even if she had clarified things via her official announcement now.

But it was a different matter with Clair and Rise. He had no obligations to the two of them, even if they _were _Kanon's cousin, that didn't mean that he had to entertain them more than he had to.

He had already made it clear to them earlier too, that they could walk to school with him if he wanted to. It wasn't his fault if they couldn't keep up with him, right?

'Katsuragi-san is ignoring me again! Is that how you treat a heroine?'

Clair called out again, this time pouting as she placed her hands on her hips in a very adorable fashion. Keima didn't knew teaching them about heroines would actually bite him back like this. It seems that the _real_ was as unfair and unforgiving like how he had thought it to be.

Keima recognized a potential situation was developing and he sighed before turning back to see that, yes, all the students around him was staring and giving him disapproving looks at making a cute girl like Clair say such a line.

Clair and Rise were cute girls in their own right after all. Their exotic hair color aside, which was a dark pink, the two of them were petite and small in statue and that made them incredibly adorable. The twins were not just cute due to the difference in height, they had very nice facial features as well. Small, puffy lips, very defined and large eyes that probably came from the Nakagawa bloodline and most importantly, the two of them had very nice voices as well. If Keima's suspicions were right, they inherited more from Kanon than any one of them wanted to admit.

The difference between the twins weren't that obvious to others but to Keima it seemed that Rise had a better overall figure while Rise was compensating a lot by putting on a thin layer of make-up that her younger sister didn't.

The two of them were like mini-idols and there was no doubt that the news of Kanon's two's cousin transferring to Mai-High would have been made known to all the Kanon fan-club members. He wouldn't even be surprised if her two cousins would have a small side branch set-up for the two girls as well by the end of the week.

But that wasn't the point right now, the point was that he was saddled with the expectation of the two girls, well one girl actually.

Rise looked like she was caught in a spot as she stared at her sister and Keima with a frozen look on her face. Keima really felt bad for the girl to be swept up together with her sister's wilfulness.

'No it isn't, Clair.'

'Mou! I want you to call me Clair-chan!'

'I refuse, there's no reason for me to do so.'

'You're being mean!'

'You're being unreasonable. First of all, you're making a scene, Clair. What would others think of you when they see this?'

'I can always blame Katsuragi-san!'

Keima's eyes twitched when Clair said that while sticking her tongue out and even Rise gasped while looking to the side. It seems that the two of them had been doing a lot of research last night if she even used this line on him.

'As I'm a heroine, I'm always right!'

Clair puffed her chest out proudly and so she wasn't prepared when Keima strode over to pull her by the cheeks, stretching them as he started berating Clair for saying that line without any consideration for the heroines of the _ideal_.

'Your knowledge is shallow and is a disgrace to all the _heroines_ of the world. Each _heroine_ has their own back ground, their own difficulties, their own problems as well as their own wish for salvation. By carelessly saying that line, you do not understand the barest essence to be acknowledge as a heroine! Every heroine must fight and claw their way for a happy ending, it might be cruel and it might be hard but that's not the worse of it all.'

Keima didn't quite raise her voice, but he did manage to look very big and intimidating to Clair as the younger girl just stared back at him with wide eyes.

Keima acknowledged that he was probably making the scene worse, but at this point, he didn't care. It was a very big insult to the _ideal_ from Clair when she proclaimed that without thinking. If he was not going to nip this in the bud, there was no doubt that it would only get worse later on.

'The worst of it all is that at any one time, there can only be one heroine. Only one can be chosen and that heroine have to live with the fact that by being chosen, she is trampling on all the wishes, hopes and dreams of the other forsaken heroines. Apologize to them, Clair. Apologize to all those _heroines_ who doesn't have that luxury as you!'

* * *

..

'I-I said I'm sorry...'

Clair was shivering as she followed Keima meekly after that little drama. It had been Rise who had broken the two of them up after Clair had apologized to Keima. The younger of the twin was stuck between shock at Keima's sudden passionate speech, as well as being stupefied at the sheer idiocy of the entire conversation in the first place.

Another part of her was actually quite impressed and amazed at the amount of dedication that Keima had for his games. It was like opening a new channel of thoughts for her. Now Rise could understand why her cousin was studying hard for an audition for a chance to be the new lead in a new game production.

There was no doubt that Kanon would surely be able to get that role but Clair had seen her cousin practising her lines very hard. The amount of dedication and emotion poured into those lines had came as a surprise to her.

But not now, there were people like Keima who actually viewed them as living and very important beings.

Rise shivered a little at that thought as well, she couldn't imagine having one person, one fan having such strong attachment to one person...

'… Katsuragi-san is as special as Kanon-nee said he was, did you forget that, Clair-chan?'

Rise smiled at her older sister even as she pouted at her reply. The two of them knew that of course, but it was another thing being confronted with it directly.

'I didn't... but... I did a lot of research! You helped too, Rise-chan! What did we get wrong.'

'… I... Didn't you hear Katsuragi-san? We have to treat the _heroines_ as real people... you're behaving like a spoiled girl...'

Rise gave her older sister a small smile but she knew that Clair probably deserved what Keima had said to her... He wasn't really scolding her, no, he was lecturing her and he had the right reason for doing so.

'I-I'm not...'

'Clair-chan?'

Clair wilted under the disapproving eyes of her younger sister and she admitted that she might have been a little...

'Sorry, Rise-chan...'

'You should tell that to Katsuragi-san and not me.'

Rise simply shook her head when Clair brightened up and ran off to Keima again.

'She never changes...'

Rise gave a small resigned smile as she watched her older sister trying to talk to Keima. Still, it had been a while since they had met someone who was able to look past their association with their cousin, Kanon. Kanon was famous throughout Japan after all and it had made things more than a little difficult for Rise and her sister.

It was partially Clair's fault as well, even if Kanon had never stopped associating herself with her cousins, Kanon did like them a lot after all, Clair had always been proud that Kanon was their cousin and had happily told everyone around them about how they were related to her.

Naturally it had cause more than their share of problems for Kanon if Clair had brought all those who wanted to see Kanon with her when they visited their cousin. Ms. Okada Tomoe, Kanon's manager had contacted them and warned them about associating themselves with Kanon the first time it had happened.

Ms. Okada had been more concerned for them than she was for Kanon, and Rise understood why a week later. There were just so many of Kanon's fans that they had started to get close to her sister in a bid to get close to Kanon. It was thankful that her sister was just as clueless to their attempts as she was to a lot of other things. The incidents were resolved without incident when it became apparent that Clair herself was just happy for her cousin at being named the most popular rookie and top idol of Japan, nothing more and nothing less. The fans would get no chance to meet Kanon through Clair, that was what they discovered after trying to keep up with her for a month or two. Plus, they had to deal with Rise too, who was more sensible and had refused point blank to talk about their cousin at great length, even if asked directly by the more shameless individuals.

Katsuragi Keima, he didn't care that they were cousins of Kanon. Perhaps it was because he didn't care who Kanon was that was the key to his indifference? He was the boy who their cousin had actually bothered to even publicly announce that the two of them were just very old and dear friends after all.

Even if Rise knew that it was not true at all, their cousin had always been kind of an introvert and had kept to herself when she was even younger. Rise had never seen her cousin being with any other girls her age and that was probably why she loved them so much.

'Are you coming, Rise-chan?'

Rise blinked before nodding at her sister and Keima, who had surprisingly stopped and was waiting for her a distance away. She had been lost in her thoughts for so long that she had to run to catch up to the two of them.

'I was daydreaming...'

Rise admitted with a shy blush even as Clair teased her.

'Aww~ Is Rise-chan nervous? Count on your onee-chan to take care of it!'

* * *

**Author's Notes: I think I'm a bit high when I wrote this. Oh well...**


	10. A Certain Side 3 - Chapter 3

The World Only the Girls Know: A Moonflower's Wish for a Certain Side Story

**Chapter 3**

**Author's Note: Characters from the Light Novels and Manga will be included as well**

..

Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki

Written by: wrathie

* * *

**Author's Notes: This chapter blew up without me noticing, so enjoy it while you can! Oh, there'll be a short hiatus for SC the following week. Thanks for the understanding!**

* * *

..

'Honestly, I'm sorry for letting you accompany them by yourself, Keima-kun.'

Kanon blushed as she and Keima made their way to a solitary bench in the back of the school for lunch. Kanon had been insistent that the two of them change locations everyday while having lunch and it was a sentiment that Keima agreed with.

Kanon was an idol after all and even if Kanon did help the situation with that official announcement, she was still a very tempting and realistic target for any journalist that wanted a scoop, even if it might cause negative repercussions on Kanon's career.

Realistically however, Keima also acknowledged that in order to do so, those potential journalists would have to get pass the Official Mai-High Kanon fan club members to even stand a chance of getting an exclusive scoop on Kanon together with him.

Keima was also amused that the fan-club, which had started as one of the most outspoken members against Kanon's openly declaring her interest in him, had ended up being one of the best defensive measure to keep Kanon's reputation as a pure school idol.

The fan-club had did their best to quash the more unsavoury news about him. Of course, he was still the otamegane to them, but they had adapted and twisted the cover-story by Kanon to make it seem that it was Kanon taking pity on Keima, who didn't have any friends. It served their purposes as it explained Kanon's interest in Keima, Keima's relationship to Kanon as well as making Kanon appear even more kind-hearted than before.

That kind of propaganda program had been developed a few days after Kanon's public announcement and Keima had to give them props for coming up with such a senseless romantic story like that. It was almost befitting of a route, almost, as there were others that did that stunt way better.

Even so, Keima gave props to the _real_ for at least trying to challenge the _ideal_, even if it was a futile affair.

'You should not be in school today, you are neglecting your work, Kanon.'

Keima replied non-commitedly even if he did curse to himself a little at why he took note of that whispered comment by Kanon's manager last night. Kanon's sincerity and desire to be with him was making him a little more conscious of her than he was supposed to.

It was not a good sign too, with the other 'captured' girls gone, it was getting harder for Keima to come up with excuses to keep Kanon at bay.

..

Even if it had seemed like a disaster at that time, especially after the Miyabi Eru fiasco, the broken truce had actually lifted a great burden off Keima's schedule. In the past, with the truce present, the girls had arranged their own special little schedule detailing which girl would be able to be with Keima by themselves. It was a schedule that changed and varied weekly or at times, bi-weekly depending on the girls themselves.

It had eventually developed into a common routine for Keima, something which Keima had unwittingly had became accustomed to as well. It had been that complacency that might have caused the Miyabi Eru fiasco to get fully out of hand... but that was past history now.

'Keima-kun...'

Kanon's voice broke Keima out of his reverie and he shook his head to clear his thoughts while tilting his head and inviting her to continue further.

'… You're thinking about her again, Miyabi-sempai, right?'

Kanon had not known Miyabi Eru, not personally at least, the first time she had ever heard of Miyabi Eru was when Fuse Aoba announced the end of the truce between the girls and declared it a free for all for all of them. As one of the 'captured' girls who was out of the loop more often than not, Kanon had not been fully aware of the changes in dynamics between the two of them till the time where Keima had made that decision to end it all of his own violation.

Kanon hadn't been very happy about the situation then, none of the 'captured girls' had, but Kanon knew that Keima would have gone ahead anyway. There was nothing that Keima could not do if he set his mind to it. That was something that Kanon believed in, the Katsuragi Keima that she loved.

So Kanon had taken some time to do some research on Miyabi Eru as well. The other girls, with the exception of Fuse Aoba and Haqua, had been content to let that particular incident be forgotten even if they had helped with the final aftermath.

Kanon believed that the girls had banded together to make all of that possible more out of guilt than anything else.

That placed Kanon in the minority of the 'captured' girls. She was not mad at Miyabi Eru, nor was she jealous. Well, she was perhaps a little jealous, jealous that Eru was able to take the first step to try and understand Keima instead of the other way around.

It did hurt to know that her guess was right and that at times, Keima's mind would wander a little.

'I've read a lot of scripts, Keima-kun... it's time like this that I should say: "It hurts, doesn't it? I understand that feeling..." But...'

Kanon continued on as she was emboldened by Keima listening to her attentively. Seize the chance, KANON!

'I won't say that I understand, it's something that I haven't... no, I don't want to know and want to experience. To be away from Keima-kun hurts... and I don't want to imagine a day where I would really have to be separated from you, Keima-kun. I won't speak badly of Miyabi-senpai because Keima-kun decided to do that on his own. But Keima-kun, I want you to remember this.'

Kanon guided Keima to look at her, not allowing his eyes to wander from her as she declared to him passionately.

'I love you, Keima-kun. With all of my heart, I won't leave you for someone else till you tell me to. Even if your heart might be stolen by someone else, even if it's for a little while. I'll be loyal, I won't look away and I won't ever let you go. I want the best for you, Keima-kun... so when the day comes that you finally decided on who you want to be with you... I want you to make the decision that you _want_ and not the decision which is the _best_. I would not want you to make a decision where you weigh all of our situations, all our feelings and our sacrifices for you. I want you to make a decision that you would be _happy_ with. That you would look back with no regrets, Keima-kun.'

Kanon was glad that the two of them were alone right now as she had wanted to say this in a more romantic setting. But she had seized the chance and an opportunity where she felt the mood was _just_ right.

'That is my wish, Keima-kun... because you've already given up so much for me, for us...'

Kanon ended her confession with a small peck on Keima's cheeks, to which she was happy to see Keima blushing in response. She knew that she had gotten the message across with that response, finally too!

* * *

..

Katsuragi Keima, the **Capturing God** was not at a crossroad just yet. He was definitely close, that part was sure. Like Kanon had said, as well as how many of the girls had professed at one time or another, he had to make a choice and soon.

Having at least one girl be aware of how he would make that choice, in this case, judging everything like he was used to, meant that everyone would eventually figure out the same.

If Kanon hadn't gone ahead to tell everyone, anyway. But that was the crux of the problem as well, if he was to decide based on what he was happy with, life would be so much simpler.

It wasn't that simple, because he had other things to deal with. Those other things were the Weiss, the demons of old hell that was the original reason why Keima had interacted and even chased after the girls after all.

One big reason why he could not and should not make a decision now, or in the near future, was because it wasn't over yet.

His quest was to get seal away all the Weiss that had escaped together with the Weiss Capturing squad, and in return have his normal life be returned to him. That quest was not even half way done, there were still thousands of Weiss left unsealed everywhere. Keima's method of capturing Weiss was to use the power of 'love' to fill the gaps in the girl's heart, thus forcing the Weiss out to be 'captured'.

It was an effective method that only he and Elsi could use, and that meant that it was hopeless for any girl to be with him during this duration.

Even if his chosen partner was to be fine with it, resentment would still be present and might even accumulate if Keima's Weiss capturing mission continues, and it definitely would. And that was not even considering how they would have to either conceal their relationship if Keima was to continue to use the same method to capture Weiss.

Him being labelled as a player or a playboy aside, no individual in the world would want to be accused of being the third party in a relationship.

The other reason was that he had to ensure that when he eventually did choose someone, the girls were expecting him to after all, whoever he choose, for whatever reason, would have to be accepted by all of them.

It might seem that Keima was betraying Kanon's request, but the fact was that one could not truly tell in the _real_. The last thing he wanted to was to have a Weiss possess one of the girls that he was currently connected with.

That would mean that New Hell would find out that something out of the ordinary had happened. That the girls had retained and remembered what had happened. Who knows what action they would take if the did... and quite honestly, Keima was amazed that they had gotten off so easily so far.

..

Keima contemplated all those questions in his mind again while gaming in class. With the exchange program going on, the entire class population had shrunk to perhaps a third of it's original population. Mai High was originally an all girls school till a few years back after all, and the entire school's population was still a little skewed towards the female end.

That didn't mean that lessons didn't go on though, it just meant that they had to join the other classes for their lessons during this period.

It was also during those periods that Keima noticed that his reputation had garnered more than a few mixed response to the entire male population. To a certain extent, his close contact with members of the 2B Pencils, Chihiro, Ayumi and Elsi was a boon to him as they helped kept the discontent and obvious bullying from Keima.

As the **Capturing God**, Keima dismissed those incidents and individuals as he was above all of them, but he did acknowledge that they would be a hassle if they happened on a very regular basis.

Thankfully, his own reputation mitigated and reduced interaction he had with others, excluding the teachers but including the other students in the class as well.

One big example was how Kanon's own presence was enough to ward off the most die-hard of Kanon fans who would want to pester him at times, usually that was a role that was taken by one of the captured girls.

What did bother him more was how some of his school mates actually looked up to him, that itself... actually didn't come as a surprise if it happened in the _real_. Sadly however for all of his 'admirers', Keima had nothing to do with them.

He just did not expect them to gossip about him when he was attending class with him. His class was 2-B, and as he had been in that school for the past two years, his classmates were more or less inured or had came to terms with the situation as they thought they 'knew' him.

Keima knew better of course, but if they thought that way, there was no harm in letting them believe that. To the other classes though, thanks to the rumor mill that he had helped contribute and maintain, Katsuragi Keima was simply a mysterious person.

He was the _Otamegane_, the notorious playboy, the densest person in whole of Mai High or secret galge protagonist.

The last one was strangely fitting, much to his amusement.

Like the capture of Ikoma Minami, with all those rumours floating around, it had became extremely difficult for anyone at all to really know who he was.

Thankfully, Kanon was with him in the same class, right beside him actually in her insistence. Even if it meant that Kanon was on hand to hear about the gossip that was said about him.

For her part, Kanon seemed more amused and happy than angry, which he was thankful for.

..

'I guess it is getting a little hard for you after that news report, Keima-kun. I'm sorry.'

Kanon hastily passed a note to him, and Keima nodded before shrugging and going back to his games. He hadn't broken his habit of gaming during classes, but he had compromised by actually participating in class if he _had_ to.

Thankfully, his reputation preceded him and most of the teachers who took the classes, ignored him. That didn't mean that Kodama Sensei, the one teacher who had it out for him extremely bad, couldn't try.

Still, it was a futile effort as Keima knew the answers to his question 100% of the time. He had to help Kanon out a few times too, which no doubt made her feel even happier.

'I have to go off after class, I have an interview to record at a studio. Could you take care of Clair and Rise for me, please?'

Kanon's next note made him pause and he turned to look at Kanon with an incredulous expression. It was only for a short while but the pleading look that Kanon showed him when the teacher's back was turned was enough to cause him to nod in reply.

* * *

..

'So Kanon-nee has to go to an interview.'

Rise nodded her head in understanding as Keima explained the situation to the two of them. Keima himself had almost been besieged by a group of guys when Kanon excused herself quickly after the bell rang. But he had been saved when a few minutes later, the two younger girls burst into the room searching for her.

Keima had quickly excused himself before guiding the two of them out before any further trouble would begin. There had already been rumors circulating about him getting involved with one of the girls in the junior high department. No doubt Minami would be happy about that, but it would not do for him to get involved with Kanon's cousin in junior high.

No doubt the Kanon fan club would have already knew about this event, but they were keeping things quiet for obvious reasons. It would no doubt be a PR disaster if word about this spreads. The next thing they knew, Keima would be involved with Kanon's cousins too. The notorious playboy would have struck again!

'Ehhh.. that's so nice! I wish I could go to an interview too, Rise-chan!'

Clair declared even as she turned back to look at Keima, who simply continued with his game.

'Anyway, Katsuragi-kun, Kanon-nee told us that you would take care of us! But we are not children any more... I can't believe Kanon-nee said that.'

Clair crossed her arms in a cute fashion and pouted, even as Rise simply sighed and bowed to Keima apologetically again. She had to do that more often now, no doubt she was embarrassed that her twin sister was actually behaving exactly like a child.

'I'm sorry, Katsuragi-san. We would be fine on our own.'

Rise tried to reassure him but even she was surprised when Keima said that it was fine.

'I'll bring you around the town. It would be good for the two of you to familiarize yourself with the place.'

Keima gave a small sigh even as he tucked his PFP into his bag. He did not like this at all, but he could pick up on what Kanon was worried about when she asked that request of him.

Clair and Rise might be practically unknown in class now, it was only the second day. But with Rise and Clair's habit to call her 'Kanon-nee' as well as how the two of them had been spotted to be with her. The last detail was that the two of them had a unique hair color that was close to the pink hair of the famous idol, with clues as obvious as that, it would be hard for them _not_ to be in the centre of attention.

Keima had no doubt that Rise was sensible enough to be discrete and would help her sister do the same, but there was only so much they could do by themselves. Especially when they were in a new and unfamiliar environment where they don't know everything, and with Clair being as naïve as she was...

It was akin to sheep amongst wolves, Keima had no doubt that there were already individuals who were _dying_ to get close to the twins. Perhaps there were already a few of them, or perhaps Keima was just being paranoid.

If he really were, that would be a relief for him and Kanon.

'Really? So Katsuragi-kun would be playing with us today?'

Clair beamed happily even as Rise sighed again, before bowing to him again.

'Katsuragi-san, thank you for doing this for us. We really appreciate you taking time off to help us. I... I know you would prefer playing your games...'

Rise actually blushed red when she admitted that, while Keima simply found the trait to be strangely endearing as well. It was not something that was difficult to pick up, but just saying it out loud for his benefit was something that earned points in Keima's book.

Apparently that response and reaction made Clair a little jealous as she suddenly grabbed Keima's arm, stubbornly holding onto it even as Rise gawked in surprise. Her action, done in the middle of the corridor in full view of everyone that was present meant that they were in the centre of the attention again.

Keima knew that this would come back and bite him in the back, he just knew it.

Sadly however, there was nothing he could do about it, and he simply suppress a sigh as Clair demanded his attention with that act alone.

'Let's go, Katsuragi-kun! We are going out on a date together! Rise-chan too!'

Keima noted that the sibling's bonds were still very strong as despite Clair's jealousy streak, she was still quite happy to 'share' him. That did not bode well, that did not bode well indeed. Especially when Clair released Keima, only for her to force Rise to cling onto his arm as well. At least Rise was embarrassed, actually that was bad too, it showed at she was conscious of him, where she wasn't before.

This was something that Keima didn't want to, but might need to deal with. It was better to nip this at the bud before it got out of hand. Keima would not underestimate the _real_ any further, it was extremely unlikely that Clair and Rise would be capturing targets. But if they still developed feelings for him, it was going to be problem, with or without any Weiss.

Especially since they were, at least Clair was, more straightforward with her feelings unlike how Minami was.

A part of Keima wished that they would learn from Minami instead.

* * *

..

'So this is the main shopping district, huh?'

Clair had not let go of Keima throughout their entire walk to the shopping district. Rise on the other hand, had nervously pulled away from Keima when Clair's attention had refocused instead on the conversation that Keima was holding with them.

Keima had taken the liberty to discuss discretion with them, a topic that had actually made Rise giggle softly till she realized she wasn't really discrete at the moment.

Still, Keima felt that it was probably on deaf ears even if Clair nodded her head while he was talking. Like he had expected, Clair was more of an air-head than he thought, no, that wasn't right, she was just too full of energy and optimism... and of course, too confident to actually care about others. It would have been a bad trait if Clair did look down on others, but she was just a bundle of sunshine and so all the negative traits associated with that was not displayed, it was a huge relief too.

The two of them... was truly a complicated package.

'Yes, Maijima doesn't offer much in the form of entertainment, but if there is one place where you would wish to find it. It's here. The other shops that are located around Maijima would either be your usual mom and pop shops, small Cafés like Cafe Grandpa or speciality shops like bike repair or bakeries. This is as good as it gets.'

Which really was quite pathetic until one actually counts the local Animate branch that was located in the store. Still, they _were_ expensive and Keima doesn't really go there much, at least unless it was for pre-orders.

'It doesn't look that big.'

Clair replied doubtfully while Keima replied smoothly.

'Maijima isn't that big either. You could take the train to DisneySea if you like. It's only a few stops away.'

'Only if Katsuragi-kun goes with us.'

Clair's line was as expected and Keima simply shook his head.

'Unfortunately that's a little _too_ far for me.'

'Ehh.. that's quite mean of you, Katsuragi-kun!'

But Clair was just teasing too and the two of them continued to speak, till Keima realized that he had been speaking a little more than he was used to doing. It could be a side effect of the latest capture, Miyabi Eru... It had truly affected him in more ways than one, perhaps helping him to cope better in the _real_ but he didn't need that, not right now as it was only encouraging the two girls.

'Katsuragi-san, what is nice to eat here?'

Keima grabbed onto Rise's sudden question in relief, it beats trying to answer Clair's next question about what was fun in Maijima. Honestly, he wouldn't know that, the _real_ never really did concern him after all and he knew that the girls would just drag him about to discover that, at least Rise would. That'll be any development of a flag for the two of them, which was what he didn't need now. At least if it's food, it wouldn't be that bad as there _was _a limit to how much the two girls could eat.

'I wouldn't know. I don't eat out much.'

Keima replied truthfully while the twins fell silent as well, the two of them looking at each other before Rise nodded her head at her sister, possibly giving her permission. That was all the warning that Keima received before Clair pulled Keima with her into a nearby shop.

'Then Katsuragi-kun should _totally_ come with us! We're going to explore this whole place today! After this, you can tell us what is nice and what is not!'

Clair didn't even look back, nor did he expect Keima to pull back from her selfish request. Keima really did want to, he did, till he felt Rise's hands clutching on to his other hand and pushing him forward gently as well.

As Keima followed slowly, making Clair struggle a little, he looked to the side to see Rise blushing before nodding her head in agreement.

'Kanon-nee told us... Katsuragi-san never goes out much... So... this... this is a good opportunity. Could Keima-san, accompany us for a while longer?'

It was a selfish request, from his experiences with the _ideal_, this was a flag for an 'event' and 'events' would drag for longer than they seem to be. It was the _truth,_ one of the few that would always be constant in the world. Seeing how he had called it earlier on, he wasn't that surprised.

'Katsuragi-kun! Let's go, let's go!'

They were not heroines, they were just associates, not even truly friends. They were _relatives_ of a _heroine_ for gods sake, and he was not even 'capturing' Kanon at the moment. There was just no reason for him to even entertain the two children like that.

'Please, Katsuragi-san. Just... for a little while.'

Rise's shy smile and Clair's excited one made Keima sigh, if he backed out of this one, it might actually lead to another more painful one in the future.

The _real_ was more dangerous than he thought.

* * *

..

'I didn't think that Katsuragi-san would really... come.'

Rise admitted shyly as the two of them shared a booth by themselves in the ice-cream parlour that Clair had dragged the two of them in. Guess even with his best efforts, he was forced to accompany them to places _more _than what he had agreed to. At least he was allowed to continue his games while doing so, so it _wasn't_ that much of a loss.

This was a conversation that reminded Keima so much of the earlier capture, and he had to keep his emotions in check while commenting that Rise was really mature, much more mature for her age at least.

'Thank you, Katsuragi-san... many people... say so. But... I don't think that's true.'

Rise shook her head while Keima simply tilted her head, inviting her to continue.

'… Because even now, I'm still just taking care of my sister... and amusing her... letting her have her way.'

Rise actually sighed a little, frowning a little as she asked Keima what he thought of Clair.

'I... We are going to attend High School next year, Katsuragi-san... the two of us, we have... something important to do when we reach that age... But it's so hard for me to think about... what's going to happen. What... every one else has decided for us and not do anything about it.'

Clair paused for a moment before blushing and shaking her head.

'I-I'm sorry... I... I didn't realize it... I'm sorry for telling you this, Katsuragi-san...'

Rise blushed even more when Keima shook his head and said that was normal, and that she probably needed someone to listen to her talk, just for a little while.

'The two of you are at the age where you should start thinking about the future.'

Keima followed and regurgitated one of the most commonly given advise in the world, but it seems that Rise never really thought of it or had someone tell her that as she blinked in wonder before nodding her head.

'But... it'll just be me... Clair-chan won't... want to.'

Rise admitted shyly while playing with her own hands nervously, her index fingers touching each other while she fidgeted. Keima knew those signs, he knew what could happen, what's worse, he probably made it worse but he shrugged it off.

Perhaps those rumours about him being a playboy was right after all... the _ideal, _no doubt this was the _ideal's _plan all the while.

But he too was loathe to just give up a _heroine_ when she was obviously in need of his help. This particular _lost sheep_ needed his advise, and needed it now!

Now all he needed... wait, when did he start classifying the _real_ girls as _heroines?_

'Katsuragi-san?'

Rise's voice broke him out of his own inner struggles, and from the look of things, he had just lost a few flags as Rise looked a little disappointed as she looked at him expectedly as well.

How does one do that anyway! Damn the _real_, this beats a CG any day of the week! The **Capturing God**would not admit that the _real_ is better than the _ideal!_

'Katsuragi-san...'

Rise definitely looked disappointed now, but she perked up when Keima cleared his throat before continuing his conversation.

'I'm sure that Clair is thinking about the future in her own way. You should not worry so much, Rise.'

Keima spoke sincerely as he turned to look at Clair, all excited as she stared and sampled the different ice-cream that was given to her by the attendant. She was just adorable enough to get that treatment, but being twins must have inured Rise to Clair's innate charm.

'Everyone thinks and acts on the future in different ways. Inside her, Clair knows that there would be the time where she would have to grow up, where she would face the future together with you. She is just doing it her own way.'

'Her... own way...?'

'Just like Rise is doing her best in your own way, Clair is too.'

'But... she's just playing... she just wants to have fun.'

The answer that Keima was giving her was not enough to sate the very serious and mature twin, but Keima simply chuckled a little before leaning back in his seat. He could see the _ending_ miles away, and he could navigate this _event_ with his eyes closed, seeing how simple it was!

'You're too eager to grow up, Rise. Just like how Clair doesn't want to grow up.'

Keima's words made Rise pause before turning redder than ever.

'It's not a bad thing... nor is it really a good thing. It all depends on how you view it... But you're right, perhaps it is time for you and Clair to talk about what the two of you would want to do and how you two are going to handle it.'

* * *

..

'What were the two of you talking about just now, Rise-chan?'

Clair asked all of a sudden as they were having their ice-creams, and her question made Rise hesitate a little as she dug into her sundae. Only for a moment though, as the younger twin shook her head and said that Keima was sharing some life lessons with her.

As it was the truth, Keima nodded his head absent-mindedly. He didn't like sweet things, and thus had ordered a cup of black coffee for himself.

In front of Clair and Rise were two different sundaes, and Keima took amusement in noting that their tastes in ice-cream were different too. Clair was happy having many different flavors in her ice-cream while Rise had stubbornly stuck with a single flavor, chocolate, for her sundae. Clair had teased Rise on her sundae being 'bland'. But on the same note, Rise had commented that she picked her favourite flavor and would enjoy it the most, while Rise would have to be contend with mixing the flavors of her sundae.

When faced with such a resounding argument, Clair had no answer and found herself staring at her sundae in regret till Keima cleared his throat and told Clair to ignore what Rise had said.

'Did you like the flavors that you chose, Clair?'

'Mmm... I did.'

Clair was uncharacteristically down as she nodded in reply, but she did perk up when Keima continued and said that in that case, the mixture of tastes would still be something that she liked.

'A-Ah... that's right! Katsuragi-kun is a genius!'

Clair clapped her hands together in joy while giving Keima a look of adoration. Keima, for his part, simply shrugged and encouraged her to dig in, even as he started on his coffee while returning to his PFP.

The twins had dragged her around the shopping district, window showing around first before popping into shops that interested them. Keima took the time to reflect on why he had gotten so soft, why he was, it was hard for him to admit this, but why it had became easier for him to accept being integrated into the _real_.

The previous justification that he had used when he was swept or dragged along by the captured girls, was simply that it was the lesser of two evils. It was easier to deal with the whimsical wishes of the girls in the _ideal_ than having to deal with the risk and the repercussions of the 'captured' girls being possessed by Weiss if he broke the very delicate balance that he had created.

It was just a risk after all, and after the past months development, Keima had found himself unable to justify his actions with just that. Simply put, and he had to be very truthful with himself, due partly to his efforts and his interactions, it was very unlikely that the girls would suffer a relapse.

That conclusion was made even firmer thanks to Aoba's ministration of the 'truce' that had been maintained, and even after it was disbanded. The girls were able to find different reasons to fill the gap in their heart, even if their affections for him might be spurned.

Keima was very proud of Aoba for her efforts, especially so since as she had been the one who saw the importance of the girl's relationships and friendship before he even made his first steps to maintain the status quo. Aoba was her student indeed!

Still, it was also quite reasonably fitting and ironic for Keima that Aoba was also the one who was responsible for pushing and integrating him into the _real_.

Before Keima had realized it, he had grudgingly been more accepting of the _real_ and had began to stop rejecting it automatically when he had to interact or to deal with it.

Part of the reason for that was due to how the 'captured' girls was denizens of the _real_ while he had transcended to the _ideal, _well, as much as he was able to anyway.

Thus, when the girls wanted his company, he had to do it in the _real_. Keima was both accepting and resigned to the train of thoughts. Aoba had been the one who had mitigated, and had all but fully made it impossible for the worst case scenario to develop. But had also been responsible for pulling her 'Kami-sama', her teacher and her crush/desired person, into what he disliked the most in the world.

Pure irony indeed, perhaps Aoba herself was not Keima's student after all if she had not seen those repercussions?

..

But one couldn't pin it all on Aoba. Nor on the others as well. She and the captured girls might have contributed to it, but Keima himself had been the one who had gotten accustomed to it. The _real_ was a scary place indeed, habits, when once built, was hard to break after all.

Still, on a final note, like how Keima had mentioned to himself before. Perhaps the final nail in the coffin was the person that he was trying to forget. She had been the one had perhaps showed to him that the _real _wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. She had also been the one who had forced him to embrace the _real _too, even if it was only for a while.

Once again, Keima's thoughts drifted to the girl known as...

'Are you thinking about Kanon-nee, Katsuragi-kun? Or about someone else?'

Clair's cheerful voice made Keima start as he looked up to see Clair in a new dress that she had apparently wanted to try on. The twins had been window shopping for most of the trip, for which Keima was thankful for. But it seemed that she had finally found something she liked in this shop that they had been browsing for a while now.

What unnerved him a little was how Rise too seemed confused and interested as she stood behind Clair, the times that the twins were in agreement, they won't stop till they get answers.

Keima was too distracted at the moment to know whether the two of them had discussed this beforehand or had Clair just spoken out of reflex.

If it was the latter, Keima had a bad feeling about this. The signs were there, he had amplified a few today, but it really couldn't be that easy, could it?

Oh, who was he kidding. With his luck, and his status as **God, **it's all but guaranteed at the moment.

Now, how to break the news the easiest?

'Someone else.'

Keima answered truthfully, but he asked Clair why did she ask that question in the first place. It wasn't too uncommon for him to lose track of his surroundings due to the _ideal_. The girls themselves were used to it, and they had developed their own ways to make Keima pay attention to him.

Kanon by wrapping her arm around his, Chihiro by poking him in intervals for his attention, Ayumi by simply tapping the back of his head. Those were a few of the examples, but the key problem was that they knew when his mind and thoughts weren't with them.

The twins, who barely knew Keima, should not have been able to notice him spacing out like that.

'Because Katsuragi-kun is not playing his PFP. You keep staring at it... you normally just type very fast. You were thinking about someone else? Kanon-nee would be sad. Who are you thinking about? … Katsuragi-kun, you sound sad too.'

Clair answered seriously with a sheepish smile, but Keima caught the guilty look on Rise's face as she looked down briefly, her cheeks lighting up in the progress.

'It's nothing... and I'm thinking about someone that I want to forget.'

Keima offered Clair a sad smile before he changed the topic, choosing to comment on Clair's new outfit instead.

'It suits you well... but you should get a darker belt with it. That'll make it stand out. To be unique, you must accessorize. First impression counts, and clothes has always been a window to a person's soul. However, one must always remember, it is always the content and not the packaging that counts.'

Keima recited firmly to the twins as they just stared at him while he did so, not really understanding what was going on but simply humoring him as he spoke. Well, maybe Rise understood as she nodded her head.

Clair had spoken a white lie, a lie of omission as the look that Keima had on him earlier, was familiar to the two of them. It was the same look that their cousin, Kanon gave on occasion at the start of the year.

It seemed unlikely that the two young girls would be able to read moods and emotions so well, but there were plenty of things that Keima did not know about the Nakano twins. Things that Kanon herself encouraged them to keep a secret, for as long as they were able to.

* * *

..

'Thank you for today, Keima-kun!'

'Thank you very much for accompanying us today, Katsuragi-san.'

The twins bowed to him politely in thanks even as Kanon smiled at them from behind them. It was close to evening, and just as the twins were done with the shopping district, Kanon and her manager had called to inform them that they would like to pick them up for dinner.

'It's so sweet of you to be with them today, Keima-kun. I'm really grateful.'

Kanon tried to give Keima a big smile too, one that was fully obscured due to the get-up that she was wearing. A bigger than usual black boy's cap to hide her pink hair, a face mask to hide her features and large, dark sunglasses to hide her eyes.

'And I as well, Katsuragi-san. Thank you for taking care of the two of them for us. I admit, I was worried that they would have gotten into trouble by themselves.'

Ms. Okada, Kanon's manager, gave the twins a measuring look before pushing her glasses up and thanking him again.

'I must give my personal thanks to you as well. Rise-chan aside, I do apologize for Clair's stubbornness, you must have been dragged from place to place by her.'

The twinkling in Ms. Okada's eyes was not missed by Keima as she teased Clair. The above-mentioned twin simply pouting and protesting in reply while Rise nodded solemnly too behind Clair.

Keima would have chuckled, but he had something else on his mind as he walked close to Kanon before resting a hand on her shoulder.

'Could we have a moment in private please, Ms. Okada?'

Keima's question made Ms. Okada freeze up, but before she could reply, Kanon had already started pulling Keima away without even waiting for an answer.

'We'll be quick, Okada-san!'

Kanon called out urgently even as she pulled Keima with her without any hesitation at all.

It would almost be cute, seeing how desperate and eager Kanon was, but Keima didn't have time and the mood to really be cheered up by a sight that would have made dozens, perhaps hundred of fanboys squeal in joy.

Especially when the topic was like a ticking time bomb.

..

* * *

**Author's Notes: Another ... Diabetic inducing and passionate confession from Kanon, that makes it one in Azalea Side, Blue Rose Paradox and one in Side Collection. And I'm not that much of a Kanon fan myself, oh well. Hope you guys liked it! R&R Would be nice!**


	11. A Certain Side 3 - Chapter 4

The World Only the Girls Know: A Moonflower's Wish for a Certain Side Story

**A Certain Side 3 – Chapter 4**

**Author's Note: Characters from the Light Novels and Manga will be included as well**

..

Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki

Written by: wrathie

* * *

**Author's Notes: God, that was a rough week. I'm low on morale, so humor me with a few reviews why don't you? Aha~**

* * *

..

'It's happening again.'

Keima commented to himself as the two of them made their way to a vending machine. The short moment of privacy, was thankfully preserved as neither of Kanon's companions chased after the two of them.

It was a sign of trust that had been built between him and the other three, that honestly Keima wasn't really comfortable about.

His first meeting with Ms. Okada had been quite interesting, to say the least. She had no doubt heard of him from Kanon, and thankfully Kanon had told her about their relationship with each other prior to their first meeting.

It hadn't quite been planned, with Ms. Okada dropping by to pick up Kanon during one of the group dates that the girls themselves were fond of organising. Kanon's manager had been very pleased and happy to see all of Kanon's friends, commenting that she was relieved that she had made many friends despite her working schedule.

She of course, had been less than amused when she found out that they were all competitors and love rivals. Still, Keima knew that Ms. Okada was also conflicted despite not showing it visually.

Even if Kanon's heart might be lost to him, someone who might actually harm Kanon's career if it was made public, the alternative of losing him might also cause a backlash on her career.

She was caught between a rock and a hard place.

The only consolation, if she could call it that, was how Keima didn't seem to be actively pursuing any one of the girls, Kanon included. At least Kanon wasn't linked or attracted to some playboy in the school.

During the past week and the different times where they actually met, where Kanon had actively tried her best to return to school to monopolize Keima, Ms. Okada had found less reasons to actually criticize Keima as well.

Taking aside his flaws of being an obsessive gamer, as well as having more than his share of unsavoury rumors in school. Katsuragi Keima had been nothing but a gentleman to Kanon, he did not push Kanon to do anything that she didn't want to.

It was more of Kanon pulling him around than anything else, and he did not seem _not_ interested either.

All in all, like with the rest of the _real_ that Keima was dealing with, Ms. Okada was forced to accept the 'image' of Katsuragi Keima that had been built up painstakingly by him and Aona.

That of a clueless, but sincere 'protagonist'.

..

'It's happening again, what do you mean, Keima-kun?'

Kanon asked even as Keima stuffed his PFP into his pocket, he didn't really meet Kanon's eyes but he pointed wordlessly to the vending machine to see if Kanon wanted a drink.

'Ah, no, I'm fine. But do continue, Keima-kun! What's... going on.'

Kanon suddenly frowned as she remembered something. Like Keima had mentioned before, each of the girls had developed their own way of interacting with Keima, some might have needed a small push from Keima to get started, but it was true that they each had found a way of interacting with Keima. It wasn't that they were comparing or anything, but they all had their ways of speaking with Keima, their own ways to know Keima, and most importantly their own ways to love Keima.

Kanon was no exception, and she did that mostly through her attempts to try and read Keima's feelings. Keima might be the **Capturing God, **and he was perhaps the best in 'capturing' as well as knowing exactly what he wanted, needed and should say at every moment through his own analytical analysis of the situation.

If he was given enough input, nothing was impossible for him.

Kanon however was different, she was an idol. And the main job, or the main purpose for her profession was to sing, perform and entertain, and make other people like her. Through the few years she had been in idol school, and by herself, she had picked up on how to read the expressions, vocal tones as well as small physical cues to give her clues on what a person was feeling or thinking at each moment.

Kanon had known Keima only after he had captured her, but during her sparsely spread out visits to school for her exams or for her attendance, Kanon had started cataloguing and memorizing Keima's facial cues.

So she could pick up that Keima had his 'game' face on. It was shown only when he decided on a course of action, and there was only one thing that Keima would decide to do, willingly, that was not partaking in his games.

Kanon was resigned to it and she sighed helplessly, before slotting in a few coins and getting a drink as well.

She knew she didn't want to, the least of the reasons was because she'll have to take off her mask, but she needed something to distract her from this, a drink helps very much in this regard.

'I'm afraid that Rise has a crush on me.'

Keima answered, almost sheepishly at least, and Kanon realized that just like how she had read his cues, Keima could read her own cues as well. Probably always did have, and it made her blush just a little to know he was paying attention to her.

The damper was that he was probably aware of every one of the 'captured' girls cues as well, and Kanon's feelings dropped just a little before recovering again. At least, Keima was being frank and truthful to her. That was good, very good actually!

'Wait... Rise-chan?!'

Keima's statement finally struck home, and Kanon whirled around to seek out her younger cousin. Only for Keima to stop her by pulling her back to stare at the vending machine. To think that the quieter of the cousin would like Keima was such a bombshell to her that she didn't even blush or react to Keima's hands clutching hers. Or how he released it just as quickly as he had done so.

Kanon always knew that it was possible for this to happen, truthfully he was actually dreading and waiting for this to happen.

Some might feel outraged at someone else falling in love with the person one liked, Kanon had been one of those, but after thinking about it, she decided to take that as a compliment. Kanon had starred and read many scripts detailing one true love, the triangle relationships and all that, and so she could grudgingly accept this kind of scenario if she viewed it as being vindicated in her choice.

Keima wasn't someone that _everyone _**wanted **to fall in love with. Even if he might be _able_ to make _everyone_ fall in love with him... it didn't meant that everyone would _continue_ to like him.

But he had his charms, and those charms were apparently working on Rise. Though if Kanon was a betting person, she'll actually put money on Clair being the one to actually develop a crush on Keima, or maybe that was perhaps _too_ obvious?

Perhaps she did have a crush on Keima, and just outgrew it after she knew how eccentric and 'unique' Keima was, or maybe she was still nursing one. This was as complicated as she had feared.

..

'I had thought it would be Clair-chan instead.'

'That is up to debate... but Kanon, how do you feel about it. About... Rise's feelings.'

Keima was as direct as always and his question made Kanon pause for a moment, just a moment though before she sighed and said that regardless of how she feels, it already happened.

'I suppose it's my fault, I didn't fend them off aggressively enough from Keima, ehe~'

Kanon joked with a small smile, but she sighed again as Keima simply looked at her patiently, one hand grasping his canned drink without even taking a sip from it.

'But, it's Rise-chan's feelings. I can't deny them, nor do I want to deny them... I just hope she doesn't get hurt from liking you, Keima-kun.'

Kanon looked at Keima, and was relieved to see Keima nodding his head.

'That is a very mature statement to make, Kanon.'

Keima remarked while relaxing, and he took a sip from his drink as Kanon stuck her tongue cutely out at him.

'I would want to say that this is my first time, but... I've made a lot of girls in school mad too... I mean...'

'You're Kanon, after all.'

Keima nodded his head again in agreement and Kanon was glad to see that he understood. It would be utterly embarrassing, not only humiliating actually to admit how many boys had confessed to her ever since she became an idol.

Or how many boyfriends she had supposedly stolen away from girls as well. It's better not to dwell too much into it, or it might actually affect Kanon more than she wished to admit.

'That's mean, Keima-kun... but yes, I... guess I know their pain now? Wait... that didn't sound right...'

Kanon's brows furrowed but they straightened when Keima gave her a small smile in response.

'You are taking this better than I would have thought, Kanon. I'm relieved.'

'Keima-kun, I'm not... that possessive... am I?'

Kanon pouted cutely at Keima, but she did feel a little disconcerted that Keima avoided the question by changing the subject.

'What do you want me to do then? Should I reject her now?'

'You are really sure that Clair-chan really has a crush on you, Keima-kun? It's been barely three days since the two of you met.'

'I am certain. And, rejecting them earlier is much simpler than rejecting them when they confess.'

Kanon was put off by Keima's blunt words, a part of her was wondering why did she fall in love with a person like him. A blunt, pointed and unforgiving person who did not consider those who were rejected. Another part of her, she noted in dismay, was actually quite excited at seeing Keima display such traits. It reminded of how he had ruthlessly gone against everything and everyone, for her and all of her friends.

'And... Rise-chan will definitely do that?'

'It depends on what _your_ actions, Kanon. The ball is in your court and hers. Rise looks up to you, perhaps a little lesser than what Clair does, but for all essences, she looks up to you. Both as her cousin and sister, but also in the _real_. She might not try to emulate you, but there is no doubt that the two of them are trying hard to follow in your footsteps.'

Kanon was glad that Keima didn't know how right, literally, he was.

'So it all depends on me... You're mean, pushing the responsibility back to the girl, Keima-kun.'

Kanon gave a long suffering sigh, but laughed as well before she turned her back on Keima, and said that they should be going back now.

'Leave it to me, Keima-kun. I'll do whatever I can.'

Kanon just hoped it was going to be enough.

* * *

..

'Good morning, Keima-kun.'

Kanon smiled as she greeted Keima while being flanked by not only Mari, but Clair and Rise as well. The three of them had dropped by in the morning to accompany Keima to school.

Even if Mari had been became used to the situation, she still took the liberty to tease the two of them when they set off from school. Breakfast had been lively, thanks to Clair and Mari's exchanges. Rise had looked a little down in the morning, and she had looked away the moment Keima met eye contact with her.

Keima was worried about causing a strain in the relationship between Rise and Kanon, but it was too early to tell. Keima reminded himself to take a closer look into the situation a little later on.

Back to the topic however, there would still be a week before the exchange program ended, and until then, Kanon was going to milk this opportunity as best as she could.

'Listen, listen, Katsuragi-kun! Kanon-nee said that she'll be able to come with us after school!'

Clair declared suddenly as they made their way to school, and the news was accompanied by a small sigh from Rise before she rallied and said that they wanted to have a Karaoke session.

'Kanon-nee told us that she hasn't been to a karaoke session since middle-high. So we thought that we should go together, what do you think, Katsuragi-san?'

There was a sign of hesitation in Rise's voice, a slight tremor too that corrected itself as she continued on. Unfortunately, it was also punctuated with a very big blush as well. Still, it could be worse.

'I would not be singing though.'

Keima knew it was futile to resist, he wasn't proud of his voice, but he didn't hate it either. He just didn't like to sing, it was a waste of his strength for him. Unfortunately, the girls wasn't going to let him get away from it so easily and they started to try and persuade him to join in.

'I would really like to hear Keima-kun's singing voice. I'm sure that it'll be great! We'll all have fun! It's not fair if it's just us!'

'It's embarrassing only at the start! Only at the start, I promise!'

'We won't laugh, Katsuragi-san. But you have to promise not to laugh at us too.'

'If that is supposed to be reassuring, I'm afraid that it's failing.'

Keima deadpanned even as the girls continued to try and persuade him, without much success at all.

* * *

..

'Mou, Katsuragi-kun is really stubborn, right, Rise-chan?'

Clair commented to her twin sister as they went their separate ways at the school gates. She had been looking forward to this too, but if Keima wasn't going to join in, it's going to take a lot of the fun out of the outing together.

'Mm mm...'

Clair had always known that she wasn't, how does she put it mildly, tactful or bright. She has always been the one who charges whole-heartedly into everything that she wanted to do.

But if there was one thing that she knew, it was her sister, Rise. Something was definitely bothering Rise ever since yesterday. She might have an inkling as to what was going on, but she was more concerned with what Kanon-nee had told Rise last night before they went to bed.

Clair had been too tired to really care, after washing up, she had jumped into bed and waited for Rise to join her and turn off the lights.

Unlike the norm, where it had only taken a few minutes before Rise returned, Clair had to wait for around 15 minutes before Rise reappeared, this time with Kanon-nee as she turned the lights off.

Was it regarding the secret that they had to keep? Either way, Rise wasn't her usual self today and Clair wanted to do something about it.

'C'mon, Rise-chan! Let's see who can get to class the fastest!'

'W-Wait, Clair-chan!'

Clair grabbed Rise's arms and took off, defeating the purpose of the race in the first place as they headed to class like the middle-school class-men that they were.

Even if there was a problem, she was sure that Rise could solve it if it took her some time. So, all Clair should do now was to be herself, so Rise could concentrate on her own thoughts better.

* * *

..

'Gomen, Keima-kun.'

Kanon clapped her hands together in apology during lunch time. She knew instinctively that lunch time was actually the most dangerous part of the school for her. There were perhaps over a thousand individuals in school, in high school as well as middle school, and out of those thousand, she guessed that around 70% knew of Kanon's presence in the school.

Out of those 70%, she believed at least three quarters of them would be her fans. And around that pool of people, she was sure that around half would actually die to have a chance to interact with her.

The past week, thanks to Keima's presence and of course, her own fan club's members playing defensive measures. (Kanon had always been embarrassed and scandalized at having a fan club, but knowing the extent of their commitment to her, as well as the actions that they would do to make her happy, was enough for her to actually feel happy about it.)

Kanon had gotten her 'normal' school life as she had always dreamed of. But today was different, she had to meet a few individuals, and for various reasons, she didn't want Keima and the twins to know.

The twins, Clair and Rise, had already made themselves known outside the corridor, patiently waiting for them till the bell rang for lunch over their side.

The middle-schoolers always did have a slightly longer lunch break then them, and it worked out better for them too.

Kanon also noted that it was also futile to conceal Rise and Clair's relationship with her, even if they might believe that they might be nothing more than friends, it was perhaps better to just admit that they were her cousins.

'The two of you would be in your care then, Keima-kun. I'll be right back!'

Kanon bowed to Keima apologetically before rushing off, leaving Keima confused along with the twins.

'Do the two of you know what is going on?'

Keima asked the two of them even as he quickly walked away, hoping to take away some of the heat from them. It was a futile effort, but it was the thoughts that counted, right?

'Nope, sorry!'

'Kanon-nee never told us anything.'

'Let's hope it isn't something troubling.'

Keima admitted while scratching his head, somehow he didn't think it would be that simple.

* * *

..

'Please, sempai. Would you accept?'

Kasuga Kusonoki, currently in her third year of Mai-High, head of the female dojo club and the oldest member of the 'captured' girls that had their hearts stolen by Katsuragi Keima, simply stared in confusion at the person in front of her.

'Would you come with us after school?'

Her junior and major love rival, Nakagawa Kanon, was looking at her with puppy-eyes that had no doubt left many boys smitten with her. Kusonoki had no reason to accept her invitation, but at the same time, no reason to reject her either.

It wasn't lost on her, neither did she ignore how Kanon had blatantly taken advantage of the situation shamelessly. Kusonoki didn't fault her for that, if she could do the same, she would have.

What was left unsaid was how her reputation had made it extremely difficult for her to speak freely with Kanon as well, she had to literally pull her into class to get some privacy.

The essence of the problem on hand then was that, she couldn't do that. Kusonoki meant that literally. She had no idea how to take advantage of the situation for her own good. Deep inside her, if that other 'her' was still around, she would actually be glad to listen to he advice for a change.

And so, she had been resigned to patiently endure the growing unease and unhappiness at knowing Kanon was abusing this loophole to the fullest. Still, even if there was resentment, she didn't hate Kanon.

The 'truce' was over and that meant it was free for all, even if each and everyone of them had been polite about it.

'Kanon-chan, it is not that I am... about to reject you, I just find it curious that you would want to invite me in the first place.'

There, she said it and Kusonoki wasn't surprised to see Kanon look at her guilty. Here it comes, there was always a favor attached to it. There was no such thing as a free lunch indeed!

'Well, I would want to introduce you to my cousins, Clair and Rise! They'll be staying with me for a bit, and I thought it would be nice to introduce her to all of my friends. I'm going to invite Minami-chan too.'

Kanon's answer made Kusonoki pause again, this time for an even longer time as she just stared at her. To others it might seem like she was glaring, but in reality she was just too surprised.

'… Would you, sempai! Please? We'll be going to the Karaoke later on, and the more people the merrier! Keima-kun is going too.'

Kanon's words seem to shake Kusonoki back to life and she considered it for a moment before nodding her head.

'Alright then, I accept. Let us enjoy ourselves together.'

Kusonoki gave Kanon a hesitant smile, not really sure why she accepted Kanon's invitation but accepting it nonetheless. Her answer made Kanon smile happily again, this time even more brilliantly than before and she even mustered the courage to jump and hug her.

'Thank you, sempai! We'll see you after school then!'

* * *

..

'Ah... So Minami-chan is in the same class as Clair-chan and Rise-chan?'

Kanon asked her junior in confusion when Ikoma Minami, shook her head in negative.

'Yes, Nakano-san sits at the front. It's that... it's rare to have transfer students... and twins too... so the whole level knows about them.'

Similar to how it was with Kusonoki-sempai, Kanon had difficulty in speaking with Minami in private. She was just so famous that just having her presence in the middle-school complex was enough to make a crowd follow her no matter where she went.

Minami, however, was inured to Kanon's status, simply because the two of them were friends and were quite close at that.

'Ahaha... Gomen neh, I should have told Minami-chan earlier... but it might be difficult... and I didn't want to make you be stressed due to that.'

Kanon clapped her hands together in apology while Minami just balked and hurriedly told her that it wasn't necessary.

'Sempai had your own reasons, I won't fault sempai for that... But to think that Nakano-san really was Kanon-sempai's cousins...'

Minami trailed off before blushing, telling her that there were rumors circulating about the two of them already.

'But no one really was sure, so it's okay, Sempai... Nakano-san really is very popular with everyone.'

Minami managed a shy smile even as Kanon breathed a sigh of relief, she remembered that there were problems in their old school. Something about jealous classmates, thankfully that didn't materialize here.

'Anyway, Minami-chan, do you have time after school today? Let's hang out together!'

Kanon got straight into the business after the conversation died down a little. Her offer made Minami blink in surprise before nodding her head slightly.

'Hang out with sempai? I didn't heard of anything from Kasuga-sempai or Fuse-sempai... I know Fuse-sempai and Shiomiya-sempai is in the exchange program... are we going to visit them?'

Minami tilted her head in confusion even as Kanon shook her head in negative.

'No, that's not it! I just want to go out and introduce my friends to Clair-chan and Rise-chan. Keima-kun is coming too! Won't you come too, Minami-chan?'

If Kanon noticed Minami freezing for a brief moment when she mentioned Keima, she ignored it. Probably for the best too as she looked down at her own hands briefly before forcing herself to smile again.

If this was Kanon-chan's attempt to deflate her spirit by showing how close she was to Keima, it was definitely working as Minami still couldn't get over the fact that Kanon had introduced her family, even if it's an extended family, to Keima!

That was like literally just one step closer towards getting him to meet the in-laws! Minami blamed and thanked Fuse-sempai for her lectures as Minami's imagination was running wild, too wild actually for her to actually focus on how she could actually find a way past Kanon's advantage.

Fortunately though, the same over-reactive imagination that gave born to those scenarios of hers was also her best critic and cynic, causing her to get control of her own emotions while she bought time for herself.

'I'll be glad to, sempai! I'll like to meet your cousins too if you'll let me... I'm not that close to them.'

Minami smiled and nodded her head, even if she was still a little confused at _why_ Kanon-chan would invite her to hang out all of a sudden, but she'll take all the opportunities she could get to get close to Katsuragi-sempai, especially since this was a free pass for her to actually be with Katsuragi-sempai for quite a while.

..

The little gathering with Kasuga-sempai and Mari-san at the Katsuragi household notwithstanding, it _has_ been a while that she could spend time with him. She'll have to try harder to actually stay with Katsuragi-sempai this time though!

'Mm! I'll be glad if you could be friends with Rise and Clair, it's hard for the two of them to make many good friends in class as they always stick together.'

Kanon gave quite an exaggerated sigh of despair, but Minami thought that Kanon was being sincere as her eyes had a touch of worry in them even as she straightened her back to beam at her, and to even hold and shake her hand with her two hands when Minami said that she'll do her best.

'Please do, Minami-chan, it's so hard for the two of them to have friends of their same age... and I... don't really want them to stick so close to Keima-kun too.'

That was news to Minami and before she herself realized what she was doing, Minami had caught hold of Kanon's hands as well, causing the pink-hair idol to give her a sharp look that made Minami flinch away immediately. Kanon seemed to realized what she had done, probably hurting the younger girl's feelings as well as she hurriedly held Minami's hands again.

'O-Oh I'm so sorry Minami-chan!... Sometimes fans get a little rowdy and I... I just, I'm sorry, Minami-chan... it's no excuse but sometimes I just...'

..

Kanon was an idol, and as an idol whose main profession was to inspire others with their performances, to get others to like and support her, her image was one of the most important assets she could ever have. One of the reasons Kanon had became the top idol was because she personified the re-emergence of the high-school idol archetype, the revival of an era that was thought to be gone due to the numerous scandals as well as bad publicity over the years from similar girls of similar backgrounds.

The exception was the current Top Idol, Nakagawa Kanon, she had zero negative rumours, she was still juggling school as well as her career, was earnest and honest in her performances, and not to mention was a total rookie when she first started her career in the music industry with Citron.

But Kanon was first and foremost, a human and as a human, it was difficult to expect Kanon to be as perfect as her image showed her to be. She tries her best, but there were times when that perfect image does fall apart and this was one of those times when her personal fear of betrayal overwrote her own innate response and condition to maintain her image.

It might surprise some of the 'captured' girls, but Kanon really cherished the friendship that she had forged with all of them. They were not the first group of friends that she had in the same level, she had other friends that was studying in another school, but due to her career she had slowly drifted apart from them.

So Kanon really liked the friends that she had made within the ranks of the 'captured' girls as well, especially those in her class, 2B like Ayumi, Chihiro and Asami. For her to be accepted as one of them, as an equal and not as an idol was a huge relief. It also helped that there was friendly rivalry and yet true friendship within the group as well. With wise friends like Aoba-san who thought Kanon a lot about relationships, to caring seniors like Kasuga-sempai who would always do their best to help them with their homework and to offer advise on other matters that she had no one to turn to. Not to mention individuals like Kujyo-san who treats her like a friendly rival and yet discusses eagerly with her about the latest gossips that was going around in their level together.

Kanon really liked all of them and she tries to believe that despite her different status, as an idol, as well as one who was a little closer to Keima and subsequently earning some ire from the girls, she was very close to all of them.

So to have Minami react in that fashion was enough to trigger the deep and hidden fear inside Kanon where she feared that the 'captured' girls would all foresake her if she was successful in her attempt to win Keima's heart.

The victory would come as bitter sweet for Kanon, for she would be achieving her goals but at the same time doing so at the expense of her friends and their hopes and dreams. Kanon always thought that she'd be prepared, or rather used to climbing over the dreams of others, that's what she was doing everyday after all, being the winner of the Idol Competition and quitting Citron.

She had lost contact with her two former team mates and friends, Lime and Yuri, and even if it there hadn't been any bad blood between the two of them and they had parted amicably, that didn't mean that she was able to block the painful feeling that there was something terribly wrong with _her_ and not them.

Could she really achieve her dreams as well as everyone's else with her songs and voice?

But back to topic, Kanon wouldn't know what to do if the 'captured' girls really abandoned her and severed all ties with her if she did succeed, would that really happen? It almost happened that time when Aoba-san declared the end of the truce between all of them, things had been quite awkward for a while but it had recovered almost to what it had been like before after the Eru-fiasco had blew over and life had went on per normal.

Perhaps they were even bonding now at the school trip as well! Who would ever know?

But yes, Kanon continued to apologize profusely at what she had done to Minami, that was unwarranted and it was definitely her fault for doing so in the first place! She shouldn't distrust Minami, she was her friend! And friends, don't betray each other!

..

'Would you forgive me, Minami-chan?'

Kanon asked in worry even as Minami felt both overwhelmed as well as confused at the rapid change in Kanon's reaction. To the younger girl, she probably hadn't put as much thought into the situation as Kanon, causing her to be confused at what was going on.

'O-Of course, it's not sempai's fault! It's my fault for being surprised... is Nakano-san trying to get close to Katsuragi-sempai... as well?'

Minami's voice was shaking, and if she wasn't aware, Kanon certainly felt that Minami was severely shaken by the entry of two more new love rivals. Kanon felt the same and she tried her best to calm her down and to tell her that wasn't true, not yet anyway. It was a very complicated situation indeed! That said, her plea of asking for forgiveness from Minami seemed even more appropriate now. Kanon suddenly realized that if she knew that having her cousins over for such a short time was going to be such a hassle, she would never have agreed to have the two of them over in the first place!

But now that she had, she'll have to deal with the fallout of everything that Clair and Rise was causing, perhaps it was not a good idea to let Minami meet with the two of them after all?

'I-It's not like that! You know that the two of them can't make lots of friends, right? So... they started spending time with Keima-kun and they got a little attached to him... that's all!'

Somehow Kanon herself didn't sound too convinced herself and she found herself sighing as she said it was complicated.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Complicated indeed.**


	12. A Certain Side 3 - Chapter 5

The World Only the Girls Know: A Moonflower's Wish for a Certain Side Story

**A Certain Side 3 –Chapter 5**

**Author's Note: Characters from the Light Novels and Manga will be included as well**

..

Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki

Written by: wrathie

* * *

**Author's Notes: I commissioned the Character Design for Nakano Rise and Nakano Clair, the link is on my profile. Interested parties can have a look, I'm really impressed by it! As usual, please pardon me for not having any betas for the Side Collection.**

* * *

..

Complicated indeed as Katsuragi Keima found himself sitting awkwardly with Nakano Rise during lunch, who was trying her best to keep her calm even as she fidgeted beside him. At least her face wasn't flushed red, but she was having difficulty meeting his eyes.

Keima for his part never commented on that, for it would be triggering a flag by itself.

That was the curse of the **Capturing God**, it could be compared to how when one studies psychology, they would start analysing every one around them without fail to draw incomplete conclusions and perhaps inaccurate assumptions about others without consciously being aware of it, an occupational hazard if one were to be blunt.

So perhaps that example wasn't the best example, but one would get that point by now. The **Capturing God** was prone to seeing 'flags', 'captures' and possible _heroines _everywhere, but with his track record and Murphy's Law acting against him, Keima knew that he had to be cautious to not trigger any more flags than necessary.

It pained him to admit it, but the reputation of being a playboy just _might_ be more accurate than he was willing to admit.

Well, perhaps it could be worse, right?

'What's wrong, Katsuragi-san? You are... not like your usual self today.'

Rise managed to muster the courage to ask Keima even as Keima bit back the retort that the question was best presented to herself instead. Kanon had sent a mail to him earlier in the morning telling him that she had a conversation with Rise about him last night.

Although Kanon didn't outright say that she discouraged or was forbidding Rise from having an interest with Rise, what was important was that she made it very clear that she knew of Rise's interest in Keima, hopefully that would make Rise think twice about what she could and should do.

However how did Rise react, or what she told Kanon in the light of the revelation of her feelings was not made known to him. Which was a pity for he would be able to gauge the situation for him much better than Kanon would, but it was a little hard to imagine that Kanon would tell him about such a sensitive subject herself. There were so many scenarios that he could think of at the top of his head after all.

Was Rise upset at being found out? Did she realize her feelings for him by herself? Or was it Kanon's words that made her really realize what she was doing? Or was Rise upset at Kanon trying to interfere or step in on what she was feeling? Maybe she was afraid and after the conversation with Kanon, felt more comfortable with her own feelings? Perhaps she was in denial that she had really fallen in love with him?

There were so many possibilities that made Keima unsure what the actual situation was like, he'll have to get the facts from Kanon later on if it was possible to have a better grasp of the situation so that he could control it better.

From how Rise was still willing, no that wasn't right, she could still speak to him in this fashion, she was still nursing the crush that she had developed over the past few days. It was a little too _fast_ but it wasn't totally _impossible, _seeing how he had captured Ayumi's heart within a week as well.

The conversation Rise had with Kanon had obviously not stopped her from having feelings for him, not that Keima really thought that it would be _that_ easy in the first place.  
Girls in love were the most stubborn beings in the world, but he had harboured the hope that at least Rise would try to keep her distance while figuring out her feelings for him. That would be a precursor for Keima to step in to stop the crush from developing even further by either rejecting her, or making her give up for the sake of Kanon. Or perhaps even to encourage her to figure out whether it was really a crush or just a simple misunderstanding?

It might be cruel yes, but that was the best and most efficient way to stop this relationship from forming in the first place. Besides, it was a better alternative than rejecting her outright, right?

Plus seeing that the two of them were _not_ girls with Weiss in them, there was no way that he could ask Elsi or Haqua to modify their memories. Which would also ironically make Rise the first girl which Keima had to turn down.

Somehow, that fact was enough to cause Keima to sigh again while Rise looked even more concerned at Keima, the younger girl playing with her fingers nervously as she looked at him nervously.

'Is it something that the two of us did? Is Katsuragi-san upset at us?'

Rise whispered softly, disappointment and worry evident in her voice while Keima turned to look at her before shaking his head.

'No, it's not the two of you. I was just tired. It had been a long day today. I apologize for making you worry.'

Keima replied before turning back to look at the direction where Clair had run off to get them some drinks for lunch.

..

The location for lunch today was at the corner of one of the rooftops of the Middle-high section of Maijima High instead. Instead of trying to look for an empty space in the High-School section, the twins had decided that it was a better idea for Keima and Kanon to eat lunch on their side of the school instead.

The middle-school students had given him odd looks as he was led by Rise and Clair, but they refrained from commenting in ear-shot, which Keima was grateful for. Who knows how outrageous the rumours were a this point in the Middle-School section, considering how the High-School side was up in arms to some degree at how Keima was with _yet_ another pair of attractive girls. This time the transfer students in Middle-High! It was enough to even cause the more popular students in school to start cursing his name.

'I... It might be our fault yesterday... I'm sorry... we shouldn't have dragged Katsuragi-san around with us.'

Rise looked genuinely apologetic as she bit her lip nervously, her hands gripping and worrying her skirt now as she looked at her lap, refusing to meet Keima's eyes.

'No, that's not it... there's no need to be so hard on yourself. Rather... why are you doing that to yourself, Rise?'

Keima asked patiently even as he continued to wait for Rise to speak again, from his reading of the situation, there was a possibility that Rise might confess to him now, but that was only a very remote chance at best.

Actually, if Rise did confess to him now, it would be a relief as it would surely be a 'crush' rather than something deeper like 'love'.

The two situations were totally different from one another, the first was perhaps an infatuation that was brought about without any real emotional attachment to them, well, that could be debated. But as compared to 'love', a crush paled in comparison to the amount of emotional investment, attachment and hurt that it could cause an individual. A relationship was something that was very serious and should not be trifled with after all.

Back to topic however, Keima suspected that like Kanon, Clair and Rise were just too sheltered, or perhaps never had the chance to really interact with boys of their own age, causing this situation to develop in the first place without them realizing it.

Well, Kanon certainly had experience, but her experiences were probably not as an ordinary student, but after she became an idol. Kanon had all but confessed that to him and the 'captured' girls by saying that she wanted an ordinary school life. It was also necessary for an Idol to be warned or at least be briefed and lectured about her interaction and relationship with others, especially with individuals of the opposite gender closer to their age.

The only flaw with his reasoning was that Clair and Rise were ordinary junior high girls who were relatives of a high school idol, and no idols in their own right. That meant that they shouldn't be as sheltered as they seem to be right now!

So Kanon and the twin's experience wouldn't be the same. Still, there was one thing that Keima hadn't been able to confirm with Kanon or the twins, he'll have to raise his suspicion about the 'work' issues that Rise had raised at the cafe a few days ago.

..

Anyway, back to topic, if Rise only had a crush because she had never met a boy who had really cared for the two of them before, the situation was much easier to handle than he had suspected. Sadly, Keima wasn't sure it was going to be that easy, the _real_ never made it easy.

'As... I don't want... Katsuragi-san to be mad at me or Rise...'

Keima noticed that she mentioned her name first instinctively, perhaps he was over thinking it but it could be a sign that she was putting herself over Clair in this particular incident.

'… You're being silly. I wouldn't be mad at the two of you for doing nothing wrong.'

Keima shrugged dismissively but Rise was allowing her to just wave off this incident so easily as she raised her voice slightly while saying that they _did_ something wrong after all.

'Oh... what did the two of you do wrong yesterday? I did say that I would accompany the two of you, right? I see no reason for me to break my promise.'

Keima crossed his arms while elaborating, hinting that he was getting a little frustrated at how they were going in circles. It was true too, Rise was obviously stalling, stalling for what he wasn't sure. This question would be better posed earlier with Clair, the more energetic of the two would have been able to get an answer from him faster after all. The only reason that Rise could have picked _this_ time to ask was that she _didn't _want to be overheard. Wasn't Rise supposed to be the more discrete one among the twins?

If she wanted to get her answer in private between the two of them, she shouldn't be stalling like this.

Perhaps Keima was right to say that Rise was still affected by her feelings for him. Alternatively, she could be stalling for Clair to be present when she dropped the question, or perhaps Rise had asked Clair to give them some privacy, meaning that Rise was trying her best to form her words just the same. Like how he had raised earlier, he was perhaps over-thinking things after all.

'We shouldn't have went out with Katsuragi-san... Katsuragi-san... is someone that Kanon-nee likes after all. Being with us... would make Kanon-nee sad... And, Katsuragi-san... only did so because Kanon-nee asked that you take care of us.'

Rise stumbled with her words a few times, but she was able to get her message across. Her words were to the point, well-thought out and actually quite valid in her assumptions with what she had to work with.

Keima was sure that Clair would certainly not be able to do as well as Rise, but perhaps that was to be expected from what he knew of the twins. Rise was the smart and methodical one while Clair was the energetic and impulsive one on the opposite of the spectrum. It was something that was common in the _ideal _and the _real _as well, so it was well documented.

'I don't think that Kanon would be sad that I am spending time with the two of you since she _did_ ask me to take care of the two of you.'

Keima reminded Rise of the facts even as he unfolded his arms to look at Rise patiently, the younger girl seeming to draw strength from what she had said earlier as she shook her head at him.

'N-No, that's not right! I... I'm sure that Kanon-nee had... other things in mind... then what... I … and Clair had in mind... for yesterday. I'm sorry...'

Once again Rise had placed her before Clair, she was perhaps subconsciously trying to emphasis her opinions over Clair, especially since she might not know what Clair thought of their little date yesterday. For all he knew, Clair was very happy with the way things had turned out and had no regrets at all regarding what had happened. That was actually more believable considering what Clair said in their first meeting in Café Grandpa.

'So what was Kanon thinking of that was different from the two of you?'

Keima had experience as the clueless protagonist, but he still gave the best impression of a very supportive senior to Rise even as the younger girl swallowed and turned redder than ever.

Rise accepted the hand that Keima offered for comfort even as she fidgeted in her seat happily, Keima wasn't worried that his actions might actually get her to confess now, but if it _did _happen then it would be the best situation as mentioned earlier.

'Kanon-nee... w-was... probably asking for help to keep... the two of us out of trouble.'

Rise manage a shy giggle in embarrassment and was made even more so when Keima agreed by chuckling in agreement, but that was not the point she was trying to make as her features changed almost immediately as she looked down again. She was mature, mature above her age, that was for sure and Katsuragi groaned internally.

It was always a little harder to deal with those that _knew_ of the rules and interactions in relationships, even if he was merely two to three years older than her himself. Then again, he was **God** after all, that allowed him some leeway actually.

'K-Katsuragi-s-san...'

Rise's shoulders dropped slightly even as Keima continued chuckling, but Rise eventually recovered from the teasing before trying again.

'Katsuragi-san knows that Kanon-nee likes... you, right?'

'She might have mentioned that once or twice... yes, what about it?'

Keima gave a vague reply, handwaving it even as Rise swallowed, the spots of red on her cheeks growing even as she looked down to the ground briefly before continuing.

'S-So Kanon-nee she would be unhappy... to... to see us... having a d-date... with Katsuragi-san...'

..

Keima had many things to reply to that statement, like how he didn't view it as a date. It was a triggered flag even no doubt, but it wasn't really a _date_. But one might call the **Capturing God's** classification to be more than a little... too high a standard to meet, so to speak, others would die for the chance to be with _any _of the 'captured' girls and the twins here.

'Was that what you wanted in the first place, Rise? Or was that what Clair wanted instead? Or was it planned between the both of you?'

Keima asked casually even as he looked away from Rise, looking and sounding not as disturbed as he should be. With him throwing the ball back to Rise's court for her to deal with, Keima was all but asking Rise to actually confess now, right now, to tell him what she felt.

If she didn't it was _still_ going to be quite obvious as well, as no matter if she denied it or said that Clair wanted it, she had more or less shown herself to be interested. It was perhaps just as planned maybe by the **Capturing God **to drag this scenario to exactly what he needed?

However, the loophole in this sequence of events was that perhaps Clair would actually was working with her as well. So technically it wouldn't be a lie if Rise used Clair as a shield to hide behind.

'… T-That's... what... t-the both of us wanted. T-To... go on a date with... K-Katsuragi-san.'

'... I wouldn't think that you would want to go on a date with me, Rise.'

Keima gave Rise a surprised look, not at how honest she was being, but to admit that Clair had been roped in as well. The question was whether Clair was doing so out of the childish crush she had on him, or was it due to something else? To help her sister maybe? He wouldn't have thought that Clair would be willing to help her younger sister in something or someone that she had declared an interest in barely a day since they had first met. Keima would argue again that the time frame for Rise's crush was just too fast to be real, or for it to have any real emotional value to them, but he was the **Capturing God**, and the case example of Ikoma Minami,which he had made her develop a crush after one meeting was not making things good for him. Still In comparison, at least Rise was probably mature enough to deal with issues of the heart, people do go out in junior hight after all!

So, what was Clair's take in this anyway?

But it was a good thing that Keima had turned to look at her as Rise had gotten the courage to look back at him firmly, her eyes watering a little as she gripped her dress tightly as well.

'I... I would like to spend... more time with Katsuragi-san... As... I think I like Katsuragi-san as well.'

* * *

..

Nakano Clair found herself stiffening as she caught her small gasp at hearing what her twin sister said. Her _twin_ sister... even if she had been with her as back as she remembered, sometimes she couldn't quite believe it herself.

She had heard others tell her about it as well, how Rise was so _different_ as compared to her. She hadn't really mind it, Rise was family after all and she was someone who knew her inside and out, same as how she knew _her_ in the same way.

At least, she had _thought_ she did. Sometimes she felt like she never knew Rise at all, like she was a stranger that was someone else. That shouldn't be there, getting in her way of what she wanted to do. That wasn't right, and Clair found herself very guilty at what she had thought and imagined in her mind.

That was not right, Rise was her sister after all, and she had done so much to pull the two of them out of trouble more than a few times in the past and in their childhood together, she had always been the troublemaker, more curious than she had the right to. Rise on the other hand, seemed to have gotten all the common sense, or perhaps she had to be the who had to take care of the rest as Clair had taken the role of the troublemaker from her. The perks of being the older sister!

Perhaps that's also why Clair was undoubtedly better in whatever the twins tried to do, Clair had the talent and Rise had to catch up with sheer grit and determination.

Clair had tried her best to help Rise, she had, but the gap still remains, it was frustrating for her, but Rise didn't seem to mind, she never did, it was like she was satisfied and happy that she was happy in whatever she wanted to do.

At least till now, Clair wasn't happy with what Rise had just told Katsuragi-kun. She had said she liked Katsuragi-kun first! Even if it was said more out of a whim at first than anything else, it had turned into something different quickly.

Clair never acted on anything less than her instincts, and perhaps her instincts were right the first time when Katsuragi-kun had told her off, there was something in him that was nice, that was not just her desire to emulate Kanon-nee.

He was, someone different! Someone who actually took her seriously, who her immediate family and caretakers actually like and respected!

That was very, very rare! Others normally couldn't stand her, it wasn't her fault that they _couldn't_ keep up with her energy and drive in everything that she tried her hand in.

Oh, she wasn't a genius in everything, but she didn't give up experimenting and wanting to know more!

That was the sole reason that she had agreed to hanging out with Katsuragi-kun at first, he was someone that Kanon-nee liked! Anyone that Kanon-nee liked was someone that she _might_ like too! She hadn't had much hope with it, she and Kanon-nee were totally different and liked different things, but she did look up and worshipped Kanon-nee, so there was the chance that whatever the person was like, it would give her a chance to know what _she_ liked too!

Boys had never really interested Clair, at the start they were fun because of their energy and their natural inquisitiveness that made them good friends to be with when she was young.

When they hit a stage, it had just gotten annoying when a lot of them flat out started avoiding her, or simply had other reasons to try and approach her.

It got even worse when they got older, but by then Clair had been warned and advised by Kanon-nee and her caretakers on what Rise had probably realized a long time ago. To many people, the Nakagawa family were an oddity for sure, the odd-colored hair that would make _any_ geneticist freak out at the sure outrageous hair color, probably a mutated gene, but they were also known for being very attractive.

It didn't help that there were only girls born so far. So to be fair, boys had quite a bad reputation as far as Clair was concerned.

..

That's why it's so extra amazing and happy for her to actually meet with someone who could actually be fun to be with, to be interesting and yet patient with her, to be able to interact with Clair and to make Kanon-nee heads and heels over him.

Katsuragi-kun was someone that Clair was very happy to spend time with, but to say that she liked him, well, that was true too! At least she was aware of it for real now when she heard Rise confess to him softly as they sat together. It... sounded better, and more real now then she did so before. It wasn't the first time that she _had_ to say that she liked someone before after all!

She noticed absent-mindedly that she had dropped the canned drinks that she had brought for_ all_ three of them only when she almost slipped on them after trying to lean closer to listen to the two of them speak again. She didn't want to hear this, but she didn't want to bend down to pick those drinks up as well in the case that she missed something they said.

Clair was not happy that she had given Rise this chance at all, not at all and it hurt her the more she thought about it.

But she kept quiet, against her nature because it was her twin sister there, someone who she did not want to hurt.

She was her sister after all, right?

* * *

..

'…'

Rise waited patiently for Keima to say something, anything, to make the situation less awkward, even if the seconds slowly turned to minutes as the two of them sat beside each other on the rooftop.

She was also glad that Clair did not interrupt the two of them just yet, she had been a little worried that she would do so if she couldn't read the mood. Clair always did go against common sense, and even if she could read the mood accurately, more so than her, there was no telling what _she_ would actually do in the name of fun and chaos.

Sometimes, like Clair herself, Rise wondered if they were really twins. So when Clair didn't immediately burst in after her confession, which had left her more than a little hot under the weather, she deduced that either Clair was stalling someone or had actually found it more interesting to listen in than to barge in.

That actually made Rise dread a little at what was going to happen regardless of Katsuragi-san's reply.

Rise knew intellectually that it was a lose-lose situation for her, no matter what his reply was, someone was going to get hurt. It was either her, Kanon-nee, or the two of them together.

What's worse was how Clair thought that it would hurt _him_ the most, that much Rise could instinctively tell just by his reaction the time the two of them had actually saw him look pensive and hurt. He really was someone kind to be hurt beforehurting the two of them, or was that how people normally should feel? Rise had no experience in this matters after all.

It was an expression that they had learnt to pick up over time from what Kanon-nee and her caretakers had taught her, it had been helpful for Rise as it would get herself and Clair out of trouble. And it was an expression that they they had seen only twice so far when spending time with Katsuragi-san and Kanon-nee.

That wouldn't be unusual by itself, people get sad and hurt all the time, that was what life was after all... but what made them worry was how Kanon-nee also seem sad and unwilling to talk about the issue, or at all even if it was _obvious_ that Kanon-nee knew what was the matter, but she choose _not_ to raise it in front of him or to the two of them for that matter.

Katsuragi-san was hurt by someone, or something, and giving her an answer her as to what hurt would simply make it hurt more. That was what Rise felt inside her strongly.

Sadly, like Keima, she also came to the conclusion that if she didn't tell him what she feel now, it would only strain relations between the two of them.

It _didn't_ help that Kanon-nee had all but tried to persuade her from doing more or learning more, or even to sleep on it... but she _just_ had to know, like any of the girls that Kanon-nee had portrayed on TV, that the feeling she felt was _love_ would be enough.

It really wasn't, Rise was sure of it, somehow. But she still wanted to do so no matter what.

..

* * *

..

The **Capturing God**, Katsuragi Keima found himself enjoying the silence as he considered his own options. All things considered, Rise confessing to him now as opposed to later was what he wanted, it was what he had baited her to do so after all. But it was also a little jarring to have her pick up the cues so easily even if Rise was a smart girl, it was like she was expecting Keima to lead her on to this to some extent.

Keima had already known that unlike her sister, Clair, Rise had a maturity that wasn't really common in her age but that was not the point here, they were supposedly only two years apart after all and in the same class as Minami too. Minami was perhaps a little naïve and shy when with him, but girls of her age were at least comfortable and aware of the ties and bonds of relationships. But apparently Clair and Rise were not as, _aware_ or accepting of the situation as girls of their age. Which was surprising, as the two of them were very attractive and Keima had expected them to have some experience with such complicated bonds by now.

Perhaps they had, judging from how Clair dropped that bombshell on them before, but they were simply unaware of the implication of those words. At least Rise was, Clair certainly was aware but even if she had been, she almost seemed disconnected at the start before she started changing her opinion and subsequently, her own feelings towards him.

What makes thing more complicated Keima had no doubt that despite the two of them being in the third and final year of Middle-High, the two of them were probably younger than that. Normally he wouldn't care, but in this instance there was just _too _much that doesn't make sense for him _not_ to care about it. The varying differences in their personalities, the maturity, the way they viewed the world as well as how they navigated it spoke of familiarity in social situations, but not in anything else. That was... worrying. It was like the both of them were _never_ at school long enough to actually do any studying in anything at all. Like the world was a huge play ground!

Younger girls were more difficult to deal with by nature due to their maturity and their general naiveness and lack of situational awareness.

Normally characters like this _wouldn't_ be heroines, but when they were, they'll be hand-waved as being older in age than what they appeared to be, Keima hadn't thought that the _real _would pull a similar stunt like this as well! Well played, really!

..

Keima would love to do a more detailed background check, but since they _were_ Kanon's cousins, it was probably going to be a little more difficult than that as information might be hidden or at least withdrawn due to their connection to an Idol.

If the two of them were in a different school year than their real peers, how could they actually skip a few grades? Were they like Fuse Aoba, geniuses at certain subjects? He'd wondered why Clair always took the lead, it wasn't uncommon for the younger sister to follow the elder sister out of their long relationship, but most often people followed someone due to respect and reverence, Clair might really be a genius in _something_. Pity she doesn't talk about herself much, neither of the girls did actually.

Either that or it was just a ploy by Kanon and her manager to get the girls to someone safe and near by forging their papers to get them transferred into Middle-High. It was _possible_, but not really practical. He'd have thought that Ms. Okada would be more down-to-earth then that, then again Clair seemed willing to play around, so it wasn't an entirely impossible situation, so Keima couldn't _quite _right it off just yet.

It was a complicated situation, but Keima knew what he should say here as he reached out to run through her hair gently, causing Rise to turn pinker than ever before he replied.

'... I was hoping that it wouldn't turn out like that...'

Keima paused for a moment before continuing, his voice soft and gentle as he reminded Rise of the current situation.

'Things are... complicated... I know you know my relationship with Kanon is odd.'

Keima chuckled again when Rise nodded her head, looking not at all upset at what Keima was insinuating about how Kanon would probably not be too happy at this.

'I... I know, it's... odd, but if it's Katsuragi-san... I don't think it's unlikely...'

Rise actually looked indignant as she puffed her cheeks out, and even if it did surprise Keima for her to be so perceptive, perhaps even more so than some of the other older girls, Keima did nothing but wait patiently for Rise to continue, as she would no doubt have more questions.

'…'

But the silence dragged on again to Keima's surprise, Rise couldn't have already came to terms with it could she? He looked back to Rise only to see the younger girl waiting patiently, the blush on her cheeks already receded as she waited for him to continue.

Oh damn, this was going to be trickier than he imagined.

'And even knowing that, you're still willing to tell me that? Rise... Rise...'

Keima gave a dry chuckle while shaking his head, sounding resigned. He _was_ resigned and so it was much easier to do so, Keima noting the way Rise looked away in shame briefly before nodding her head again.

'I know it's wrong, but... I just thought that it's best if... I said it now... and to perhaps give up...'

'But you won't give up, won't you?'

Keima cut Rise off and when Rise looked down again, Keima shook his head and asked out loud why was all the girls around him so stubborn.

'Because... Katsuragi-san, is someone amazing.'

Rise answered, a small but very happy one that made Keima stare at her for a moment.

'… You're not making it easy for me, Rise.'

'I didn't... I... really didn't mean for that...'

'But you still did...'

'Then... it will only make me... like Katsuragi-san... more.'

Rise scooted closer to sit beside Keima, a contented expression on her face before saying the line that Keima could see from _miles_ away but was unable to prevent it. Curse them all, the 'captured' girls and the others that were dragged for the ride. Perhaps it wasn't just the looks that was hereditary, the stubbornness and dedication from Kanon was passed down as well within the family tree, if that was even possible. Well, it was, but that's another thing altogether.

'I'm... happy just by being your side, Katsuragi-san... so, even if Katsuragi-san like Kanon-nee more, it's okay. P-Please... don't push me away, Katsuragi-san?'

Rise asked in a more childish and begging voice that was more Clair before resting her head on his shoulders, seemingly content just being staying in that position.

'…'

Honestly, it could be far worse.

* * *

..

'… Keima-kun, must you always...'

Kanon found herself unable to continue what she was planning to say at the sheepish look on Keima's face. After escorting the twins back to their classes, with Clair looking a little subdued, she probably had been eavesdropping, Keima had waited to walk to class together with Kanon to fill her in on what had happened.

Keima couldn't blame Kanon for being shocked, he himself wasn't _too_ surprised at Rise's feelings, putting Kanon's feelings in front of hers was something that he expected. Rise had always displayed signs of being a follower than a leader, with high levels of conflict avoidance that made her perfect for a peacemaker, ironically at that. So for her to give up her position for Kanon was expected, not like Clair ever had a chance, she was probably aware of that.

'It's not my fault this time. You know that I can't reject anyone that easily without a good reason.'

Keima _did _reject someone before, Kureha Haruka was the first and probably would not be the last, at least the 'captured' girls hoped so.

'And there's no good reason to reject Rise-chan? S-She's... fourteen, Keima-kun!'

'Fourteen huh... so she did skip a few grades... I guessed as much.'

That was one part of the mystery solved and even if Kanon had clapped her hand over her mouth at her slip up, looking quite horrified before she scowled and repeated her point.

'T-That aside! She's fourteen, Keima-kun. She isn't ready for a relationship!'

'I'm not sure whether you're saying that to help yourself, too over-protective over the two of them or truly think so. If it's the last of them, you are a bad liar, Miss Super Idol.'

Keima was being very snarky, and a little too sarcastic than usual. What made Kanon stunned was how Keima actually raised an eyebrow while chuckling back at her and it was enough to cause Kanon to gawk at him like he had gone crazy. It was a private side of him that was normally only seen in front of his family and Haqua, the few that he had actually pulled off his mask to speak with.

Chihiro was close, Kanon herself was a wee bit closer, Fuse Aoba was closest among all of them, but it was always business between most of them, Kanon taking advantage of the opportunity to actually be _herself_. She had almost never seen Keima as _himself_, not that she doubted that there was another side that she wasn't fully aware of. Like Rise, she was sure she didn't mind, and seeing Keima like that reinforced her resolve.

..

It was... she had no other way to express it, it was so attractive that it made Kanon's mind blank for a second before she recovered.

'W-Well, maybe children nowadays mature faster... But she's still very young...'

'Precisely why there is no reason that I can see that I should reject her without a reason. Besides, it seems that she has all but rejected herself with what she was implying. She has never once intended to challenge you, Kanon.'

Keima's words made Kanon bit her lip before she huffed and shook her head.

'N-Not... like I ever thought she would actually try... Rise-chan... is a nice girl.'

Kanon emphasized even as she clung on to Keima's hands again.

'So you can't be mean to her at all!'

'Rise, she is more mature than some of you. To come to that conclusion so easily is difficult... I would recommend that you speak to her again tonight. It... should not be an act, but beware a woman scorned.'

Keima recited easily even as he excused himself from Kanon, causing the Idol to frown at Keima trying to play truant.

'You should attend classes, Keima-kun!'

'I know. I'll be right back. Something propped up.'

Keima answered evenly as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, an unreadable expression back on his face that caused Kanon to pause for a moment. It was the same expression that he had showed when he had made the decision in that fateful night where he had decided to save Miyabi Eru-sempai.

'O-Okay... please... don't push yourself if you are falling sick, Keima-kun.'

Keima nodded, satisfied at how Kanon picked up what was going on before she hurriedly left, leaving Keima alone before he headed up to the roof again.

..

'Did you call me?'

Keima asked patiently at the figure that was leaning against the railings of the roof casually, a wicked smile on her face even as she nodded her head. With long pale green hair and red eyes, she would have stood out amongst a crowd just like Haqua. But the part of her that everyone would focus on would definitely be the two small horns that was on the top of her head like an oni.

'Good! You recognized the message I sent you. I think you already suspected it, so let's cut the chit-chat. My partner is utterly useless, but you're pretty good even without yours. How about we team up for a while for these two, huh, human?'

The demon grinned even as she raised the Weiss Detector beside her, the unmistakable beeping sound confirming his worse fears.

'As long as we make it quick, demon-san.'

Keima answered even as she nodded and straightened her back, a lazy grin still on her face as she slowly wandered over to him.

'Sure, we can do that. I'll be glad to see what's so amazing about the human partner who captured twenty Weiss.'

'Before that... could I have your name?'

Keima closed one eye to calm himself down even as the demon paused before chuckling wildly for a moment, the question enough to tickle her funny bone.

'Good! You got guts... my name is Lune, Katsuragi Keima. Let's get along, huh? Ahahaha~'

* * *

**Author's Notes: Even if it's a weak and token defence, this is happening within the arc of MW, so Keima has changed alot. **

**I'm totally breaking Lune's character as I have a fixed view on how she is, and I didn't watch the TWOGK: GA animation at all! My apologies in advance.**


End file.
